The Little Chain
by nicolegreen8
Summary: Meet Alice of "the Little Chain,' a story about a princess' dream to become a human and fall in love. With the help from her friends, Alice's dreams come true. But is it all worth it? Does Alice have to give up too much?
1. The Far Away Kingdom Of San Francisco

**The Little Chain: Chapter 1 ****The Far Away Kingdom Of San Francisco **

Our story takes place in San Francisco, the year was 1865, and takes place in January. It was 10:00 am and it was cold, but sunny. The sounds of music, carnivals, and excitement can be heard for miles. There was a huge festival going on. The whole town was crowded with citizens from the rich and the poor, celebrating the prince's 15th birthday and his coming-of-age ceremony. The prince, however, was away from the party. He was at a cliff house that was perched on the very brink of the San Francisco bay, like a castle by the Rhine. He was a teen boy who was 5'3" tall with short blonde hair and emerald green eyes. He wore a white overcoat that had some green designs in some spots. Under the fancy coat he also wore a black waistcoat vest over a white dress shirt, and had a cravat tie that was sticking out. Lastly, he wore white breeches and black boots and white gloves. He was leaning against the railing while he watched the waves roll in, for miles along the beach. His thoughts were soon interrupted by someone calling out his name.

"Oz! What are you doing on this side of the party?!" The prince boy named Oz turned his head around and spotted his two friends standing at the doorway. One was slim, yet, a toned young male. He was 5'7" tall. He had beige-colored hair and blue eyes. He also has two black earrings (studs) in each ear. He wore a black frock coat that was buttoned up. Under the coat he wore a dark blue waistcoat vest over a white dress shirt and a blue ribbon tie, and he wore black dress pants. The other boy was shorter than him. He was only 5'4" tall, who had long dark shaggy messy hair that reached almost halfway down his back. He wore glasses that covered his pitch black eyes. He wore a black dress coat over a white shirt and pants, a black waistcoat vest and a purple bow tie. Both boys then walked up to him.

"Good evening Elliot and Leo." Oz said, with a smile. "What are you doing up here by yourself?" The one named Leo asked. It's not like the Vessalius household made this exciting party and you don't take part in it." Oz let out a quiet laugh.

"Sorry, guys." Oz replied back to them.

"You've been out here since this morning, what's the problem?" The other named Elliot asked.

''Oh, it's nothing personal. I guess I'm just more nervous than usual, so I just thought that the sounds of the ocean waves would help." He said, with a bright expression on his face.

"Well, you are going to be the next head of the Vessalius house, Oz; this is your coming of age and birthday after all." Leo said.

"That's just it! Why do I have to do it? It's such a pain." Oz said, with a sigh.

"Because it's the fate of a prince when he turns fifthteen, accept it." Elliot said coldly.

"Ah well, I guess that I'm glad that the festival brought everyone to this part of town. Seeing all of these new things for a whole day…It's a lot of fun!" Oz said, in a cheerful mood.

"Well, now that you seem to be in a better mood, come back and join the ceremony for Christ sakes. If you want the stupid ceremony to be over you should attend the ceremony first." Elliot said sarcastically, while walking away. Leo just rolled his eyes.

Oz, Elliot, and Leo were the tightest of friends. Oz was the leader of the group. He was the prince of the Vessalius family, one of the houses of nobility. Oz retained a bright, optimistic, mischievous, and energetic personality. When he was young, he worked hard to gain praise and recognition from his father. However, he had discovered that his father hated him to the point of not wanting to be his father. After experiencing this, Oz began to think that there is no guarantee when you are born into the world. He thought of himself as weak and, in order to protect himself, he should at least remain an obedient child and not let harm come his way. When his friends came into his life, their happiness, caring, and doing anything to protect each other, Oz finally overcomes the shadows of his past. Elliot was part of the Nightray family, which was, by far, a very different household. Leo, Elliot's servant, belonged to the Nigthtray family. Elliot is hotheaded, outspoken, and always forces his opinions on everybody else. When Elliot first met Oz, they both attended the same academy. They got into a fight over a character in a novel series called "The Holy Knight" where he spoils the ending for Oz. Elliot hated the Vessalius family, a belief that is his fathers'. However, after learning more of Oz and his past, he decides to judge everything with his own eyes. He now views things differently than before, and accepts Oz's friendship. And then there was Leo. Leo, at first, seems to have a rather calm demeanor. His friends have revealed that Leo can be violent and unsettled, but usually has good control of himself. Leo has great respect for Oz and Elliot.

"So guys? Did you see that cute girl wearing that blue flower dress?" Oz slyly asked.

"Psst, yeah, but she was such an airhead, talking to her was like talking to an eggplant!" Elliot cried. Elliot then had a thought.

"Speaking of girls, Oz why must you flirt with every lovely lady you see, even the ones slightly younger than you?" Elliot asked.

Oz tried to think of something. "Well, it's either because I just like to flirt or, I don't know, I'm trying to find the one and only girl for me." Oz said, looking down. Elliot and Leo looked at each other. Leo was the first to speak up.

"Oz, there are a lot of fine young lady's out there, and the dream girl you want will probably be here tonight." He said, trying to cheer him up.

"That's very supportive of you Leo, but…"

He was then interrupted by a female voice. "Good evening Oz-kun." Oz jumped a little when the girl before him came up to them unexpectedly. The boys recognized her, as she was one of their friends.

"Sharon-Chan, hi, you gave me quite a fright . "Oz said, while putting his hand behind his head. Sharon just giggled at his comment.

She was the lady of the Rainsworth household. She was 5'2" tall and had long light brown caramel colored hair that was tied loosely in a ponytail with a ribbon. She had pinkish-cranberry colored eyes. She wore a purple dress that had a flower design. Sharon was a calm, gentle, kind, and trustworthy girl. She smiles most of the time but she can be serious, especially in fights. She has both beauty and brains, however, it is noted that she can be very intimidating. She is very protective of her loved ones. She, and all her friends, respect each other.

"Sharon-Chan, I thought you weren't going to take part in the party. What made you change your mind?" Oz asked.

"Well, my mother was supposed to be here for the event. But unfortunately, three days ago, she started to feel ill. So in order to explain her absence, and send her congratulations, as her daughter, she sent me to come take her place." Sharon answered, almost sad.

"Is that so? I'm sorry about your mother's illness Sharon-chan." Oz said.

"It's quite alright; I mean it would be nice if I my mother could attend the party also." Sharon said, in a brighter mood.

"Heh, then let's kindly thank your mother for her thoughtfulness." Oz said, cheerfully. Everyone just giggled.

The conversation was then interrupted by the sound of rustling coming from behind a tree. Oz turned his attention to the tree before him and saw a person hiding behind it, trying to be unnoticed. Oz recognized the person.

"Echo-Chan?"

The mysterious girl named Echo was startled upon being noticed.

"Echo-Chan, is that you?!" Oz yelled excited.

"It's just Echo!" Echo yelled back.

"Ha!, we haven't seen each other since Christmas Eve! What happened that night? You disappeared the next day; I was a little worried." Oz said, while walking up to her.

"Echo just came to see what was going on at the festival. Echo should go back home now." Echo explained.

"Aw come on, join us!" Oz said, happily. Echo justed shrugged.

"C'mon, the more the merrier! Besides." Oz said, taking her by the hand.

"I insist you stay." Oz finished. Echo just gave up.

Echo was yet another friend of Oz, except that she was on her own. Heck, she didn't have a family at all. Echo is what you call a loner. It is really unknown what happened in her past, but Echo really doesn't care what happened to her, really. Echo was 5'3" tall and had white hair and pale silver eyes. Her hair is bob-cut with two inch-thick strips in the front that reach to her shoulders. Unlike other women wearing big long dresses, Echo wore a mid-thigh high length blue white dress with a blue vest over it. Dark blue buttons line the sides of the vest and she wears a navy blue short tie. She also wears thigh-length white boots that seem a bit more like socks, which are folded at the top. Echo's overall persona appears to be emotionless at times, like a puppet. However, Echo can have an individualistic personality; she just simply has difficulty expressing it. Oz treats Echo like any other girl he meets. She, however, does not like how Oz treats her like a girl. She even told him to call her just Echo and not Echo-Chan or anything else. She, however, respects Oz. Oz often calls to her to hang out with him and the others.

While Oz was walking her over to his friends, Echo was looking around, as if trying to find someone. She finally had the nerve to speak up

"Oz, where's that little one?" She asked.

"Who, Ada? Oh she's somewhere; I just don't know where she went off too. But I'm sure she'll come back." Oz answered.

The others noticed something behind Echo's back. "Echo, what's that behind your back?" Sharon asked. Echo then took the object off her back to show everyone. They then saw that it was a Talbot camera.

"Oh, it's a camera!" Oz said, with a bright expression.

"Echo was going to take pictures for her dairy." Echo explained.

Oz then had a thought. "Hey, I have an idea. Let's all take a group photo." Oz offered.

"Oh, Echo would rather not…"

"C'mon Echo-Chan, what's a dairy without having pictures of your friends in it?!" Oz said, smiling. Echo shrugged.

"I would love to be in a group picture." Sharon happily said.

"I guess a friendship photo wouldn't hurt." Elliot said. Echo sighed in defeat.

"Alright…" She muttered. The four of them walked towards the front of the meadow. Oz was in the middle, Elliot was on his left, Sharon was on his right, and Echo was sitting on the ground in front of him. Leo held up the camera.

"Ok, guys. 1…2…3!" The camera snapped the shot.

"Great job everyone." Oz said.

"I can't wait to see the photo when it has been developed." Sharon said.

"Over and done, now let's go back to the ceremony. Elliot said.

As the other's we're walking back to the party, Echo went up to Oz and tugged on his sleeve. "Oz, Echo has made her decision, and wants to join her friends for the whole day." Echo said.

"That's the sprit Echo-Chan!" Oz cried of excitement.

"It's just Echo!" She corrected him.

Echo then ran up to walk with the other's to head back to the festival. Oz was about to leave, when a breeze of wind came in and made him stop in his tracks. The others noticed Oz looking around

"Is there something wrong Oz-kun?" Sharon asked.

"Guy's? Do you hear…strange voices?" he asked. All four of them looked at each other and shook their heads.

"I don't hear anything Oz." Leo said.

"It must be coming from the party, it is crowded over there." Elliot said. Oz shook his head.

"I guess you're probably right…" he said. He joined the others and began to walk back.

What the teens did not know was that Oz was right. There were strange voices that probably can only be heard though the winds, but it was not coming from the festival. Heck, the voices weren't even coming from anywhere in this world! The strange ghostly voices were coming from a different world beyond this one…


	2. The World Called The Abyss,Meeting Alice

**Here's the second chapter to the story. For chapter one, I didn't put a authors note because, well, since this is my first time on I didn't know that the only way to write an author's note is you have to type it in along with the story. So anyway, here's the authors note for chapter one.**

**This is my first Pandora Hearts Fan-fic, so please be nice about it. This chapter might be a little boring, but hopefully later chapters will be less of that ^^; So if I do anything wrong or you have advice, pleeeeaaase tell me. And I'd really appreciate it if you put in a review, too!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pandora Hearts, or The Little Mermaid story, they all belong to their rightful owners.**

**…**

**The Little Chain: Chapter 2**** The Mysterious World Called The Abyss, Meeting Alice**

In a dimension, far away from ours, lies a whole different world only one could ever imagine. An almost utopian like place, only populated by chain-people and chain-creatures. The world they all lived in was like a dark twisted version of the supposed wonderland that a person would stumble into, like Alice in Wonderland. This world is called the Abyss. The Abyss is an endless world of darkness and things from the past and present floating around the place. The pavement was surrounded by six inches of water, ankle length. How the Abyss came to be is unknown. What is a chain you ask? Well we have two different kinds of chains, people and creature. A chain-creature is a being of the Abyss. They're like the creatures we have in our world. The difference is that these creatures were monster's that nobody could ever imagine, and these creatures have powers too. Like our animals, there were predator chains and non preditor chains. As for chain-people, they're half human and half creature, meaning that they take the form of a human but in the inside they are creatures. Unlike chain creatures, chain-people can change their form from their human to their creature form, and they have powers too. Like us, there are good and bad chain-people. The time period for the Abyss world is, or at least draws from, the Victorian era. Within the Abyss, which is In the middle of one of these chain communities, lies a palace. This place is where the royal family resides, as well as their loyal subjects and servants. Okay, you've got enough background. Back to the story!

Like in the human world, it was 10:00 am at the palace. Everyone who lived there gathered at the concert hall inside. Today was the day where the seven princesses of the Abyss perform a musical concert each year. They would introduce themselves in order from oldest to youngest. Once the royal theater was filled, the entrance fanfare starts to play and then the MC comes up on stage to welcome the audience.

"Welcome one and all to our musical celebration as the king's nieces' come to sing an introduction to everybody. Introducing the princess uncle, King Oswald!" The king named Oswald enters the theater above the audience on the theater balcony and bows while the crowd cheers wildly.

He was 6'1" tall, and had tired violet eyes with shoulder-length black hair. He wore a black overcoat that fades into the color red as it nears the bottom. He wore a navy blue vest, and underneath this is a white dress shirt. He also wore black pants, a white ascot and a black cape. The collar of this cape is longer on the right side, and although it's meant to rest on his shoulders, he wears it only on his right shoulder, letting the left side of the cape drape down his back slightly. The left side of the cape is only supported because he wraps it around his left arm. He also wore studs in his ears. He was a quiet and gentle person. It was his job to monitor people who come around the palace, other nobles, and his nieces. He also was an all-around good person, and will constantly criticize himself more often. He would be withdrawn, and questioned the loyalty of those around him. All in all, he was a good leader of the Abyss realm. He was known as the Gryphon Chain.

The MC then continues his speech. "And presenting the distinguished court composer, and the valet of the king, Raven!" That said, Raven enters the theater on the theater balcony box where the king was.

He was 5'11" tall, and had long, typically messy black hair and golden eyes. He wore a collared shirt, which has some buckles on it, a cravat over it, a pair of white gloves, black pants with a strap around his right leg - close to the hip - which holds his guns, a black coat, black boots that are pointed at the tips, and a beaver black top hat. He has a cold and reserved exterior. He can potentially be harsh and cruel, one that would do anything without hesitation to protect the king and the princesses, even if this means killing his friends and family. But despite this, he is still caring and kind. He has a very strong character, despite being teased, and will endure much to protect his friends. He was known as the Raven Chain.

"I'm really expecting this musical to go perfectly well, Raven." Oswald said.

"Oh master, you are going to love this number. I wrote this one all for the girls, you'll see. Your nieces-they will be amazing!" Raven said, excited. Oswald giggled.

"Yes and especially my little niece Alice." He said.

"Yes, she has a beautiful voice. I promise you master that you will be proud of this." Raven said.

"Well what are we waiting for? Let the musical began!" Oswald said to everyone.

As Raven walked to the stage, he muttered something. "I hope that stupid rabbit shows up for her rehearsal."

Once he was on stage, he proceeds to the podium and begins to direct the orchestra. As the music was playing, six teen girls came up on stage and started to sing they're musical number.

_"Hello, we are the chain daughters of the Abyss_

_With an honorable father who loves us_

_And gave wonderful names as well."_

_"Marie_

_Ada_

_Vanessa_

_Zwei_

_Flower_

_Celia_

_And Alice"_

All six chain sisters started to do a ballet dance, while they continued they're song.

_"In a musical we hope to show our happiness_

_With the heart of a maiden's_

_Vocal bell."_

_"Marie!"_

_"I am known as the Mirror Glass Chain."_

The first one named Marie was 5'7" tall, and had strawberry-blonde hair that went down below her waist, a slender face and pink eyes. She wore a red corset underneath a pink overcoat adorned with ribbons, a pink dress, long boots and a pink ribbon that was attached to the collar of her shirt.

_"Ada!"_

_"For me I'm The Sorcery Enchantment Chain."_

The second one named Ada was 5'4" tall, and had long blond hair and emerald green eyes. She wore a witch outfit, whereas, the skirt was orange and the laced up corset was black. She wore black leggings and gailledress shoes, white gloves, black cape, and a black witch hat.

_"Vanessa!"_

_"The Queen of Hearts Chain."_

The third one named Vanessa was 5'7" tall, and had shoulder-length black hair and blue eyes. She wore a black and white waistcoat over a simple black and red cocktail dress. She wore black pants, small leather choker around her neck, and on her left ear was a gothic ruby crystal in an antique black brass.

_"Zwei!"_

_"The Duldum Chain."_

The fourth one named Zwei was 5'3" tall, and had short silver hair that had an cylindrical hair ornament in one of her locks and had silver blue eyes. She wore a big red cape over a laced up vest with a off shoulder peasant blouse, and a full waist band skirt with petticoat. She wore red gailledress shoes.

_"Flower!"_

_"The Garden Gnome Chain."_

The fifth one named flower was 5'2" tall, and had shoulder-length dark brown hair that was in two pigtails, as well as, dark olive green eyes, and a soft round face adorned with a few freckles. She wore a dirty, somewhat tattered, dress and a cape.

_"Celia!"_

_"The Fawn Chain."_

The last one named Celia was 5'1" tall, and had short light red hair and brown eyes. She wore a brown laced ruffle southern belle dress, with brown boots.

_"And then there is the youngest_

_Who is the most powerful chain of them all_

_Yes, our final sister_

_We're showing her appearance to every one of you all_

_Who'll sing a song that Raven wrote_

_Her voice is like that of a rabbit's_

_Our little sister_

_Alice The Blood-Stained Black Rabbit!"_

They said as they swayed their hands to the right side of the stage. Everyone waited for Alice to appear, she didn't. The sisters sang the line again.

_"Our little sister_

_Alice The Blood-Stained Black Rabbit!"_

Once that was said again, Alice still did not appear. Everyone then began to panic.

"Not again! Damn stupid rabbit! Master I-!"

"ALICE!" Oswald screamed in anger, cutting off Raven.

Oh man, where is the little sister named Alice at during the concert?

…**.**

The absent little sister named Alice was at a different location in the Abyss. She was at, what looked like, a junkyard where things from the human world end up.

Okay, let me try to explain this. How debris from the human world ends up in the Abyss world is this. The Abyss has these never ending transportation portals where anyone or anything can enter them and transport them to another world. There really is no stopping these portals from appearing in random places of the Abyss. The portals would suck in, whatever's on the other side, and transport them to the Abyss world. That's the reason why a lot of junk from the past and present are in the Abyss. Okay, there's your story on that, now back to the other.

Alice climbs up on a broken concord coach carriage, to get a good view of the place. Alice was one of the seven princesses of the Abyss.

As her sisters said previously, she was the youngest, but she was the most powerful chains known as, The Blood-Stained Black Rabbit in the Abyss. She was 4'11" tall, and had long dark brown hair, with two braded locks with chain pieces at the ends on both sides, that reached to her knees, and purple eyes. She wore a red coat with a white diamond design, a black skirt, and laced up knee high white boots. On her right shoulder, she was carrying what looked like to be a civil war bag. Alice's personality appears to be cold and rude. She is hotheaded, loud spoken, and says what she thinks without any regard to the consequences. She is energetically aggressive with people in general. But despite this, she also has a soft side. She is curious and adventurous too.

Alice was looking around the junkyard. She had recently heard that one of the portals sucked in a mansion from the human world and dragged it into the Abyss where it will remain an isolated home. Her thoughts were then cut short by someone calling out her name.

"Alice, wait up…" the distant voice said.

"Gilbert, speed it up!" Alice whispered harshly.

She turned her head back to where she left off while the person named Gilbert was catching up to her.

"You know I can't run and fly that fast." Gilbert said, catching his breath.

Gilbert was older then Alice, around 14 years of age, but he wasn't as tall as her. He was 4'9" tall, and had long, typically messy black hair and gold honey color eyes. He wore a blue outfit, resembling sailor boy clothes, as well as black boots. He is a cry-baby, who is constantly picked on by Alice, but he was a kind and loyal boy regardless. He was known as the Stray Cat Chain.

Alice ignored what he said and finally found the abandoned mansion.

"Look, there it is." She said, pointing in the direction.

The outside of the mansion was tilted a little on its side. Some of the structure was broken off, but other than that, it was cool scenery.

"Doesn't it just have a cool eerie feeling to it?" Alice said, fascinated. Gilbert made a swallowing noise.

"Uh, yeah…Ok, we saw the house. Let's go home now!" Gilbert said, nervously. Alice groaned in annoyance as Gilbert was flying away a little.

"You're not being a scaredy cat are you?" She whispered, as she grabbed him by the hand and started to fly towards the mansion.

"What, me?" Gilbert asked.

"Yes you, you're being a scaredy cat." Alice answered.

"Na-uh." He disagreed.

"Yeah-huh you are." Alice teasingly answered.

"No I'm not! It's just that, it, um…it looks-rotten and not safe in there." He said, as Alice let go of his hand. He then continued.

"Yeah, yeah and it has things in there that I'm allergic to. Yeah, you see, I'm allergic to dust bunnies and cobwebs. I can even feel them coming inside my nose." He said, sneezing unconvincingly. Alice just looked at him with a raised eyebrow and smiled. She was looking through a window while he was talking.

"Fine, be like that, but I'll go in and explore by myself." She said, while opening the window. "In the meantime, you can stay here and-watch out for predators." She finished. She then climbs in the window and goes inside.

"Deal, ok-you explore and I'll stay here and-What? Predators?! Alice!" Gilbert cried. He then climbs through the window, quickly.

The window then closes in on him, even though he was only halfway in. He tries to break free from the closed window.

"Alice… I'm not… I mean I can't-alright Alice, I give up!" He said, through struggles. Alice just giggled at this.

"Oh, Gilbert." She said. Alice then was trying to bust the window open.

"Alice, you don't think there are any predator chains around here, do you?" Gilbert asked.

"Gilbert, don't be such a scaredy cat." She answered him.

"I'm not a scaredy cat." He said.

The window finally opened and both chain-friends started to explore inside the mansion.

Alice and Gilbert were the tightest of friends. It's no surprise that the two share each others secrets. Gilbert was Alice's servant. Gilbert sees her as his boss, but Alice sees him as an equal and a brother like figure. Alice frequently teases Gilbert, more than most other people. But despite everything Alice and Gilbert have a good friendship.

The two adventurous friends continued down the endless hallway, Alice stayed calm while Gilbert was just being nervous.

"This is wonderful-I mean, I really like this kind of stuff. Uh, mystery, exploration, creature popping out of every corn-."

Gilbert wasn't watching where he was going, since he was too busy being nervous. He didn't notice that there was a knight statue in the middle of the hallway and he just happened to bump into the statue, making it fall on top of him. Gilbert then screams as if he was being attacked. His loud echoing causes the floor boards, where Alice is standing on, to break and Alice falls down the hole and Gilbert runs to her and falls down in the hole too, while he yells out her name.

They end up down in the basement. Alice rubbed the back of her head, she was lucky to be alive from that fall. She then saw that Gilbert was holding onto her for dear life while he was shaking and had owl like eyes on his face. Alice just smiled at his expression.

"Aw, is the poor little kitten alright?" She asked, in a motherly tone voice.

"Uh-huh, yeah Alice, I'm fine, I'm okay." He said, still shivering.

Alice then shushed him as she just discovered that there was a spiral staircase, which probably leads to somewhere upstairs. Gilbert got off of her and followed her up the stairs. Alice didn't bother walking up the steps since she knew they would slow her down, so she just flew up the stairs instead. Once they were on, what, the third story floor? Alice looked around the bedroom and found something that caught her eyes.

Over on top of a wooden parlor table, was a hair comb.

"Oh!, Gilbert look! Isn't it the most beautiful amazing thing you have ever seen in your entire life?" Alice said, holding the object, showing it to Gilbert.

The hair comb had the white lotus blossom on it in frozen glass form while the rest of the comb was blue; the hair comb looked like it came from china.

"Oh, neat-o! Um, do you know what it is?" Gilbert asked. Alice let out a quiet laugh.

"Nope. But Break will know." She said, putting the comb in her bag.

A noise is then heard from outside the house. Gilbert starts to get scared and curious.

"Did you hear that? I've got a bad feeling about this." He said. Alice wasn't listening at all; she was too distracted by, what she found, a flute.

"Huh, I wonder what you call this shiny stick?" she said, holding the object.

"Uh, Alice, I think we should leave this place." Gilbert said, nervous. Alice just sighed.

"Gilbert, can you, for once, not be such a scaredy cat. We are fine. Nothing will happen to us." She said.

As she was saying that, a monstrous figure was looming behind them behind a big stained glass window. Gilbert can feel the monstrous figure behind him. He slowly turned his head to face whatever was behind him, as he saw the figure behind the glass window. He was still, but shaking, while his eyes were the size of dinner plates. His jaw dropped and he was sweating all over.

The monster broke the glass with its hand. Gilbert then screamed as the monster was trying to grab him.

"Alice! Let's get out of here! Run!" He screamed.

The monster was one of the chain-creatures in the Abyss. This specie was called the card chain. They are considered to be the weakest form of all of the chain-creatures, and are easily preyed upon by other chains in the Abyss. The card chains all appear similar with only few variations between them. All cards' heads are round and roughly stitched together. This card that Alice and Gilbert are being chased after was about 50 feet tall, its body was shaped like a card, its article of clothing was what looked like to be a joker's outfit, it had huge hands, its mouth was sewn shut, and it had empty black eyes. It also had a nail that had been hammered into its head.

Alice and Gilbert ran down the spiral stairs as fast as they could. But then the chain card came out under the stairs, blocking their path. Luckily there was a doorway on the left side of them. The two decided to take that path instead. They stopped in the middle of the new staircase to see if the small doorway would hold off the creature as the creature was trying to fit though the doorway.

"Guess it's not fun being big after all is it." Alice said, crossing her arms.

The creature finally managed to break free from the doorway, making the two's calm demeanor to an "Oh Shit!" one instead.

The two, now flying, flew down the stairs as fast as they could. Alice carried Gilbert, since he couldn't fly fast enough, while they both cursed, "Damnit" along the way.

When the two reached the entrance of the mansion, they realized that the doorway was broken.

"Oh, No!" Gilbert yelled, panicked.

Thinking fast, Alice decided to just ram the door down with the speed of her body. As she positioned her body to one side, with her eyes shut and holding on to Gilbert tightly; she busted the doorway really hard and landed in the water with a hard splash.

The two got back on their feet quickly and ran for their lives, since they both knew that the small entrance wasn't going to hold the creature off. The two ran in different directions. Alice didn't have time to go after Gilbert now that the creature was chasing after her.

Alice ran as fast as she could, the left part of her body still hurt from busting the door open, but that didn't stop her from running, she was a fast chain after all. She then tripped on something and fell in the water, sliding a little. Now Alice was hurt even more, as it was tougher for her to get up. The creature finally caught up to her, and as it hovered over her, Alice struggled to get up.

"I've finally…found one…It's a tasty-looking…girl…" The chain card said, about to grab hold of Alice.

Just then the sound of hitting can be heard from behind the creature.

"Get away from her you big bully!" It was Gilbert, hitting the creature with a thick wood stick.

The creature then turned its attention from Alice to Gilbert. Gilbert then started running to lead the creature away from Alice and go after him instead.

He ran as fast as he could, watching the creature as it chased him. Not looking where he was going, he bumped into a broken brick wall and was blocked from going anywhere. The creature finally caught up to him and grabbed him in its hand. Gilbert screamed and struggled in the creatures' hand as the creature was slowly moving him to its mouth.

Just when it had him four feet from its mouth. Army of chains started to wrap around, and go through the creature's body, releasing Gilbert from its hand.

The unexpected chains were Alice's doing, that's right, this was one of Alice's chain powers where she can shoot chains from behind her and use them to either make the chains grab on to an object or have them destroy the enemy.

"I'm sorry to interfere, you Trump! But dinner's been canceled." She said.

With that she ordered her army of chains to crush the creature into pieces. The creatures' body was then blown into smithereens, pieces of its body fell like rain drops into the water. Alice, with her fists on her hips, then put her army of chains away and turned to look at the kitten Gilbert before her. She gave him a "hmm" sound along with a smile. Gilbert frowned.

"I-Hey I could of taken it down." He said, getting up.

"Oh really, with your screaming and whimpering, yeah as if you were brave." Alice teased him.

"I'm as brave as you are, I'm not afraid of anything." He said, putting his fists on his hips.

"Not even haunted houses?" she asked.

"No."

"Or chain-creatures?"

"Nope."

"Or…Hmm." Alice said, now thinking of something else. She then had a thought.

"Gilbert do you see that?" She asked him, lying.

"What where?" Gilbert asked, turning to where Alice was pointing.

"Where, I don't see anything…Alice?" Gilbert said, noticing that Alice wasn't behind him.

"Alice?" Where are you?" he said, turning his head in every direction.

As he was starting to get scared, something pounced on top of him, growling, and pinned him to the ground on his stomach.

"AHHHH! Alice! Help me! I'm being attacked by a man eating cat! Alice save me!" he screamed bloody murder, while splashing around in the water.

Then, what he thought was a wild cat, burst out laughing. He recognized the laughter belonging to Alice.

It was Alice the whole time, his horrified expression turned into anger and embarrassment.

"That wasn't funny Alice!" he yelled.

"Only for a certain kitten who says 'I'm not afraid of anything.'" She said, imitating him.

She then made another wild cat growl at him, making him jump and squirm again. Still laughing, she got off of him and flew away. Gilbert followed her to their next location.

"Gilbert, you really are a scaredy cat." She said.

"I am not." He replied back to her.

…**.**

Just an hour away from the palace and the junkyard, was another location that Alice and Gilbert would visit. Well, a place where they would meet a friend of theirs. His name would happen to be Xerxes Break, or commonly referred to as Break; he was known as the chain the Mad Hatter. He lived outside of the palace; he's kind of a loner. He lived in, what looked like a crumbled clock tower and a crashed steam train all put together. Sure it looked like ruins on the outside, but the inside, well it was like the whole place wasn't in ruins. The inside was built like a house except that it had a throne, not a big one, as the living room, with a flight of stairs beginning from the entrance of the place. It had the train cars, as well as, other rooms just like in a house. The whole inside was decorated with a lot of Victorian antiques. The Mad Hatter chain was in the throne living room, sitting in the throne chair.

Break was 5'8" tall; he had short white hair, or light lavender, that stuck out at the bottom of his back. He only had one wine-red eye, while the left side of his face was covered by his bangs where his missing left eye was. He wore an indigo overcoat, which was teared at the bottom, the insides were colored red. Under the coat, he wore a white dress shirt, with a pale pink ascot scarf that was sticking out, black dress pants, where one side was covered with belts, white gloves, and had on a indigo slash top hat that had two pieces of paper that say "Love and Peace" and "Welcome". His hat was decorated with a few playing cards, three roses, thorn covered stems wrapped around, and a pin with five purple feathers holding all of this in place. From the outside, Break seems like a carefree character, never serious and always smiling, with a weak spot for all kinds of sweets and cakes. Sometimes he even eats sugar cubes that he always brings along with him. When he needs to be, however, Break can also be sinister and dangerous. Break has not always been the way he is now. Before, after losing his eye and loved ones for a short while after, he was a bitter and angry person, never smiling. However, through the friendship of Alice and Gilbert, he began to open up.

Break was leaning back in his chair, humming and looking around through his opera glasses, he had his legs crossed on a tea table that was in front of him. While he was relaxing, he was eating round candies from a candy box. His thoughts were interupted by a distant voice calling out to him from the entrance.

"Break! Hey clown!" The voice called.

Break got up from his relaxed position, and looked through his opera glasses, like looking out through a front door peephole.

"Well, well if it isn't the adventurous chain princess." He said, walking down the steps still looking through his opera glasses.

"The one and only girl in the Abyss who doesn't act like a proper lady, is independent and intelligent, and doesn't mind breaking all the rules." He finished, as he came down to the last step. He then lowered his opera glasses to see her at wings length.

"Thank you for that introduction, clown." Alice sarcastically said, giving him a smirk with her arms crossed. He bent forward, one hand behind his back while the other held the opera glasses, and gave her a polite smile.

"So, what brings the curious rabbit here with her cowardly kitten friend?" he asked.

"Well, the curious, but adventurous, rabbit brought her human expert, the clown, her new discoveries." Alice said, showing her bag and then digging through it. She pulled one of her new treasures out of the bag. She held up the hair comb to show Break.

"Break do you know what this beautiful object is?" She asked.

"Why, certainly Alice darling." He replied, taking the comb from her hand. He studied the object through his opera glasses, quite amazed by its beauty.

"It's simple, really Miss Alice." He said, smiling at her.

"Really? What is it?" she asked, eager to know.

"This is called a hair comb, Alice." He said.

"A hair comb? What does it do?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. Break giggled.

"A hair comb is what lovely women wear in their hair to keep a hair-style they want in place." He answered her. Alice's expression then changed to "Oh, now I get it."

"There are different appearances of these accessories, but they all do the same thing. This one, in my eyes, looks like it came from china. The frosted glass flower is called the lotus blossom." Break said, pointing out every detail.

"So there you go dear Alice, all you need to know about this treasure." He said, handing her back the comb.

"A hair comb, how girly but wonderful." Alice said, holding the comb close to her.

"What about this shiny stick?" Gilbert asked, holding the object up to him.

"Ah, my if it isn't the nickel-plated brass that plays the sounds of grass, trees, and the horizon." Break said, holding the object.

"Children, this shiny stick is called a small, high-pitched, fife transverse flute." He said.

"Wow." Both teens whispered, looking at each other.

"Now, the fife is part of the human's instrument list. This instrument was originated in medieval Europe and is often used in military and marching bands. It makes a small, high-pitched sound, similar to another flute called the piccolo, but louder and shriller due to its narrower bore. But despite this, it has a fine melody. Allow me to demonstrate." He explained. He then played a song that told the beauty of the grass and trees and the horizon.

The rhythm was soothing, making Alice imagine lying in the warm summer grass, with the cool wind blowing through her hair, and smelling the fine spring air. It also made her think of something else, was she forgetting something?

"Singing?!" she gasped, realizing what she had forgotten.

"Now here's another example of a melody, one that the marching bands play." Break said, not listening to Alice's panicked thought's, Break then played a marching band tune.

"The stupid musical! Holy crap, oh mighty, my uncle's gonna have kitten's!" Alice cried, stuffing the hair comb in her bag and then putting the bag on her shoulder.

"That's the 12th time we've forgotten." Gilbert cried, grabbing each side of his hair with his hands.

"And that children, is how the instrument works." Break said, missing out on the conversation.

"Uh, I hate to be rude clown, but, I gotta hit the road! Thanks a bunch!" Alice said, snatching the flute from his hand and then flying away, waving to him.

"My pleasure Miss Alice, good day to you." He said, waving back to her.

…**.**

Unaware,to the two teens, they were being watched the whole time, from the time they left the palace to now. They were being watched by two chain-people.

One was a human-cat like male who was 5"6" tall and had long messy brown hair that hung over his face, covering the right side of his face, which had no right eye. His one left eye was crimson-colored. He wore a ribbon collar with a bell restng in the center. He wore a black cape that draped over his shoulders and fell down his back, branching off into twin ribbons that had large bells tied to them, a dark red high collared sleeveless shirt, and at the bottom there were also metal straps which hung loosely from the shirts' material. His pants were a darker red color, which were tight and he wore long pointed shoes. His arms were large and bulky, appearing to have been made from a black kind of material which was stitched onto his human arms, extending them to an abnormal length, ending in razor-sharp silver fingernails, which can cut through human flesh.

The other one was an 8 year old boy. He was 4'7" tall and had short messy blond hair and had one red eye on his right side while his left eye was a golden yellow color. He wore a cream colored overcoat that had a golden line going down the front edges, and the ends of the sleeves were spread out. He wore a white shirt, a big bow tie, cream colored breeches, white stockings, and simple gold colored leather shoes.

They were on top of a crumbled tower bridge, looking down on the passing teenagers. The thing about both their one red eye is that whatever their seeing, another person is watching through their eyes too. The person watching through her valet's eyes, was in the father parts of the Abyss, like two hours away from the palace. The only thing to say right now is that she was hiding in the shadows; the only description is that her pink eyes were glowing in the shadows.

"Hmm…The B-Rabbit has an interest in the human world, how cute, almost ironic, yes?" The female voice said.

"Cheshire, Vincent. I think this little chain might be useful for something. Like, she may have the key to the king and the Abyss's undoing, yes?" she said, putting on an evil smile and her pink glowing eyes becoming fierce.

"I think I'll enjoy watching Oswald's pretty little niece."

**…**

**Okay, the ending may have sounded cheesy, but I had to end this chapter rather quickly. So, can you all guess who the villain is in this story? :) Anyway, there are going to be songs in this story that sound familiar. Three of the characters in my story have several roles, just like the Pandora Hearts stories. For the characters where I got creative, I either based their half chain parts on what they like or fear in their personalities or who their chains are. For Marie, The Mirror Glass Chain is based on her ability to use mirror manipulation to make it appear as if she is in numerous places coupled with her amazing agility and acrobatic way of fighting, making it extremely difficult to attack her. For Ada, The Sorcery Enchantment chain is based on her fan of sorcery, ghosts, torture, and the occult. For Vanessa, The Queen of Heart chain, I had to get creative since she doesn't have a chain or something in her personality that would suite her. BTW, she's wearing the Dungeon and Fighter Cosplay Witch Costume****. For Zwei, her half chain part is based on The Duldum chain. For Flower, the girl in the beginning of the series who nobody bothered to confirm her real name, The Garden Gnome chain is based on her being a flower sales person. For Celia, the idea of her half chain part being the humpty dumpty chain didn't work out so I chose The Fawn chain to be her half chain part. And for her appearance, I had to get creative since she hasn't appeared physically in the series. For younger Gilbert, I chose him to be The Stray Cat Chain, due to him having the fear of cats XD **

**Ok, that's it, enjoy reading the story! ;) **


	3. Argue with Uncle,Secret Tower,Festival

**And here is chapter 3. This chapter took me 5 days to write, all 8,753 words, whoot! I just hope my story is not plagiarizing the little mermaid movie, shivers. But I'll let the readers decide on that. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pandora Hearts, or The Little Mermaid story, they all belong to their rightful owners.**

**…**

**The Little Chain: Chapter 3**** Argue with Uncle, Secret Tower, And A Festival **

Later that afternoon, Alice and Gilbert finally made it back to their home in the Abyss. Alice knew her uncle would be more than a little pissed at her. Yes, he was a quiet, gentle, and all around good person, but he also has quite a temper. If things go wrong he just won't have it. He has to have it kind of his way. He's the ruler of the Abyss and he wants things to be played by the rules. So, yeah, he's very strict, especially towards Alice.

Alice was told to meet her uncle in the palace throne room by her sisters, after they were done complaining to her. Alice really didn't care what her sisters and uncle thought, she was a free spirit after all.

Alice soared in the palace, until she came to the throne room. Both Oswald and Raven were waiting for her. Once they saw her and Gilbert enter the room, both their eyes glared at her with such intensity, that her instincts told her to be prepared for them. Once Alice came up to them, she was the first one to speak.

"Hey Oswald." She said, smiling calmly.

"Don't, hey Oswald, to me young lady." Oswald said sharply.

Alice's calm demeanor quickly turned into annoyance as her smile melted away. She just stood there; arms crossed, and put her weight on one leg.

"Alice, I have had it. This is now the 12th time you didn't show up for your rehearsal." Oswald said sharply.

"12th huh? I can't wait for number 20 to come. Then we can celebrate the 20th anniversary…"

"Alice!" Oswald hissed at her, cutting her off. Alice glared at him.

"Really? Is that it? Do you want to humiliate this family Alice?" He questioned her harshly. Alice just looked away from him.

"It's been hard enough for me and everyone to keep this place afloat without you going around and missing out on every important event." He said harshly. He then sighed.

"I just don't know what we're going to do with you, Alice." He finished. Alice sighed.

"Oswald, chill, I just forgot, I-."

"No, because of your careless attitude-." Oswald said, cutting her off.

"Careless and stupid attitude!" Raven said, cutting Oswald off. Oswald continued.

"-The entire concert was-."

"Ruined! Just ruined, wrecked! That's all it was. Just splendid!" Raven exploded, cutting off Oswald, as he stomped up to her.

"Pipe down seaweed head; it was just a stupid musical." Alice said.

"It's Raven stupid rabbit! You may not have cared about the concert, but I did. This musical was supposed to be the summit of my illustrious career. But now I will never achieve that goal. Because of you, I am now the miserably clown of the entire realm!" Raven shouted.

"But it's not her fault!" Gilbert shouted, storming in on the conversation. Both men stared at him, making him nervous.

"Oh, well then would you mind telling us why?" Oswald said. Gilbert's knees started to buckle.

"Um-well-you see, uh, we were just minding our own business when this chain creature chased us-yes! And we tried to out run it-but we couldn't- and then it-'I want to eat Alice'-and then I-'Oh no you don't'-and it chased me-and I was-AHHH-but Alice came in and-'Take that trump'-oh, and then we were safe. And then next comes the Mad Hatter, and started to go on and on, and-." Gilbert went on and on.

"The Mad Hatter!?" Oswald shouted.

Gilbert made an 'Eek' noise and went under Alice's coat. Alice just stared at him.

"If you went to the Mad Hatter, then that means you went to the waste dump areas again, am I right?" Oswald said, standing in front of her.

"I'm still-here…." Alice said, making a crooked smile. Oswald grumbled.

"Oh for the Abyss's sake, Alice, how many times do I have to get this through your head? Do not visit those areas, not because it's dangerous, but because I don't ever want you to study those artifacts that those savages made-I mean humans!" Oswald said, exaggerating. Alice glared at the black haired man.

"Uncle, don't talk about them that way!" she growled.

"They are a horrible disgrace to this world. Do you really think I would want to see you killed by their weapons?" Oswald cried, holding her chin.

"I'm not a five year old-I'm thirteen-." Alice shouted.

"Don't you back talk to me young lady. As long as you live in this world, you obey its rules!" Oswald growled, cutting her off.

"Why can't you just listen-!?"

"Enough! I am never, NEVER hearing you talk about humans, or seeing the Mad Hatter again. Do you understand?!" Oswald screamed.

Alice swallowed a scream and was prepared to shout something more at him. But she just gave up and stormed out of the throne room, letting out a deep breathe. Gilbert followed after her. Oswald sat down in his chair, with his head down. Raven was leaning on the side of the chair, smoking a cigarette. Raven sighed.

"B-Rabbit…That stupid rabbit thinks she knows everything. You give her an inch, she hops all over you." He said, blowing out a puff of smoke. Breathing in the taste of his cigar.

"Raven, you don't think that I was too hard on her, do you?" Oswald asked.

"Absolutely not master. That girl just doesn't understand that you are only trying to protect her. It was Lacie's wish, wasn't it?" Raven asked.

"Well, yes, I believe." Oswald answered.

Who is Lacie? You may ask. Well, Lacie was Oswald's younger sister. As well as the mother of Alice and her sisters. Lacie and Oswald were on opposite ends of each other. There were times when they fought and she would run away from home until Oswald apologized to her. But despite this, they both cared about each other very much. The only way to describe is to say that Lacie shared a lot of physical traits with Alice; heck Alice was probably the only daughter that looked so much like Lacie. Lacie had the same facial structure as Alice, if not a little more defined by maturity. Her hair was styled differently; as she did not wear braids, but was similar to Alice's in length, yet black rather than dark brown. Her eyes were red rather than purple. Unlike Alice, she wore different dresses in varying colors. Lacie was a wonderful woman. It was no wonder that everyone who lived at the palace loved her dearly. What happened to her? You ask. Well, she died giving birth to Alice. After her death, everyone hurt emotionally, especially Oswald. Lacie's last words to her brother were

"Good-bye, Oswald. I love you. Please take care of my youngest daughter." This is why Oswald is very protective of Alice.

"Oh Raven, how do you stop my sister's daughter from causing trouble for everyone?" Oswald asked, putting a hand on his forehead. Raven took another drag from his cigarette.

"Well, my only thought is, reliving you and your sister's past." He answered.

"What do you mean?" Oswald asked.

"I mean pretend that Alice is your sister, right? Caring deeply for the safety of your sister, always keeping her nearby when possible. I mean, I would probably do the same thing if she was my niece. No more of this 'soaring to the dump place to my hearts content' and other such bloody hell stories. No, master-I would keep that rabbit in her cage." Raven protested.

As Raven was saying this, Oswald sat there thinking about his solution and his face brightened.

"Raven, you are right." Oswald said.

"Who wants to know?" Raven said, puffing out smoke.

"What Alice needs is a babysitter." Oswald said, getting up from his chair.

"Correct, master." Raven said.

"Someone to keep an eye on her, to keep her out of trouble." Oswald said, turning to face Raven.

"For you and your sister's sake." Raven agreed.

"And that person will be you Raven." Oswald said, pointing at him. Raven then coughed up smoke, as his half-finished cigarette fell on the floor. He looked at his master with shocked eyes.

"M-Master, you can't be serious!" Raven cried. Oswald nodded.

"That I am Raven, you will watch over my niece. This is not a favor, it's an order." He said.

"But master, I'm a composer not a babysitter!" Raven cried.

"Raven, if you do not follow orders, than you are being disobedient." Oswald said sharply.

"Yes, master." Raven said, giving up. He then left the throne room to take his disagreement somewhere else.

…**.**

Raven walked down the palace corridor, mumbling to himself.

'Why do I have to play the babysitter?'he thought. 'Damn, that stupid rabbit! I have to go from being a loyal servant of the king to watching over a stubborn princess!' he muttered to himself.

He just couldn't believe it. He, the raven, has to watch over, Alice, the rabbit, and swoop down to stop her if she tries to make trouble. How was he going to do that? His thoughts were soon cut short, when he sensed Alice's presence.

He turned his head to the left, and in the distance he could see Alice, arms crossed and head down. He saw that she was upset, and was trying to hide it.

Raven felt sad for her, his master may have been too hard on her. He and Alice never had a good relationship to start with and he didn't want to make it worse.

"Alice…" Just then a distant voice called out to her.

It was Gilbert, carrying a shoulder bag. Curious as to what those two were doing, Raven watched them.

Alice took the bag from Gilbert, and put it on her shoulder. She then looked around to see if they were being watched. When it looked like no one was in sight, she swayed her head in the direction to tell Gilbert where to follow her. As they flew off, Raven got more curious.

"Huh? What is that stupid rabbit up to?" he asked himself. He then followed after them.

…**.**

It had been an hour since he left the palace.

'How much farther is this stupid rabbit going?' he asked himself. He then stopped flying when Alice finally came to her stopping point at a medieval tower. Raven hid behind a crumbled house.

The tower was 150' tall, the bricks were a grayish purple color, and it had no windows.

Alice and Gilbert went up the little steps to the towers' corridor. Alice turned her head around to make sure there was no one in sight. She and Gilbert then entered through the corridors. Raven left his hiding spot and followed them.

When he ran up the spiral staircase, he was blinded by the light when he entered into the room and quickly hid behind an object. When his eyes adjusted to the light, he saw that the inside was filled with collections of artifacts. The little bit of light that shined on some of them, had a mirror affect over the rest of the collection in the room. The room had different color lights. Raven was astounded.

He then found the collector laying on a king sized bed that was in the middle of the room.

…**.**

Alice laid there on the bed, studying the hair comb. She had a sad look on her face.

"Alice, are you okay?" Gilbert asked, concerned about her.

"Why can't I think like he does?" she asked.

"Why don't I have hateful thoughts-on a world that has wonderful things? I guess I'm just no ordinary girl." She finished. Alice then got up and walked to one of the shelves. As she did this, she started to sing her song.

"_Look at this junk, isn't it sweet? _

_Wouldn't you believe my whole collections complete?" _

She sang, as she put the hair comb on the shelf. She then backed away from the shelf, and continued her song.

"_I'm a girl, what do you think. _

_A girl that has everything?"_

She sang, as she looked around the room.

"_Look all around, antiques untold. _

_Copper and bronze and fine leather and gold. _

_Paper, china, books and feathers what do you think? _

_Wow, she knows everything." _

Alice then flew to one of the higher shelves.

"_I've got gem stones and crystals worth a-plenty. _

_I've got records and dates of worlds explored." _

She sang, as she held a gemstone and crystal in her hands. She put both of them back down, and flew to a different shelf.

"_You want pocket watches? I've got many!" _

She sang, as she held up a box of pocket watches to show Gilbert.

"_But who will care? It's no big deal." _

She sang, in a sad tone. She then put the box down, and pressed her body to the wall.

"_I want so much more." _

She sang, as she looked up.

"_I wanna live like the people are. _

_I wanna dance; wanna learn to dance like they do. _

_Just to move and glide across the-."_

She sang as she went to a painting that showed a couple dancing. She then danced in the air, trying to picture how they danced. A question then came to her mind.

"What are they called?" she asked.

Gilbert answered her by tapping his feet on the floor.

"Oh-floors!" Alice said, rubbing Gilbert's hair. Both of them laughed together.

"_Floating' in midair, you don't get too far." _

She sang, as she flew around on her back. Gilbert started to do the same thing.

"_Staying attached to the ground is required for walking, dancing."_

She sang, as she grabbed Gilbert's hands and they spun around in midair.

"_Skipping down a-."_

She sang, as her and Gilbert were skipping in midair. Another question came to Alice, which made her and Gilbert stop.

"What was that word again?" she asked, wrapping one arm around her while the other was on her chin.

"_Road."_

She sang, finding the word.

"_Up there beyond, up where they belong. _

_Up where it's sunny all day long. _

_Where they breathe free-I so want to be. _

_Part of that world." _

She sang, as she flew higher in the air, spinning, while she was looking up at the hole at the top of the tower.

"_What can I do if I could live out of the dark shadows? _

_What would I do just to spend a day under the emerald earth?" _

She sang, as she lowered herself to the floor. She then rolled on the floor, as if she was lying on the grass. Gilbert did the same; instead he just put his hands behind his head.

"_You think that on land, they would understand. _

_And that they don't keep there children behind closed windows. _

_Young and free, want to flee. _

_And be ready to stand."_

She sang, as she lifted her body up to a sitting position. She then took off in midair, while doing backflips.

"_I'm ready to learn what the people know. _

_Give them my questions and get their answers." _

She sang, while going to a shelf and selecting a book.

"_What is a fire and how come it-." _

She sang, going to a painting that had a woman holding a lamp. Yet, another question came to her.

"_What was the word?" _she sang, asking.

"_Burns."_

She sang, wrapping herself.

"_When will it be my turn? Oh wouldn't I give, just to join up there where they live?"_

She sang, flying up to the tower and sticking her hand through the bars.

"_Out of the dark. _

_Want to be a spark, just to be."_

She sang, while lowering herself to the ground. Gilbert made a sad face.

"_Part of that world."_

She finished, looking up at the tower, along with Gilbert.

…**.**

Raven, still hiding behind one of Alice's artifacts, had been watching her sing her song. Now there was something else to complain about.

He couldn't believe it. Alice, longing to become a pure blooded human, was she insane?!

That's it, no more spying, he was going to march up to that stupid rabbit and confront her about all of this.

Raven got out from his hiding spot, and started to walk calmly to Alice. Before he could make it four feet from his hiding spot, he stepped on a tiny gold ball, which made him go flying across the room. He managed to grab hold of a curtain that was hanging from one of the shelves. But the curtain failed to stop him from falling; it instead buried him under the shelves artifacts.

The crashing noise had alerted both Alice and Gilbert, and Alice quickly turned her head to the noise while Gilbert hid under the bed. Alice gasped, when she saw who it was under the pile of her collections.

"Seaweed head!?" she gasped. Gilbert lifted the sheets to see who it was.

Raven, more pissed than ever, struggled out of the pile of junk, and glared at her with flame in his eyes.

"You stupid rabbit-are you out of your-you are-what the hell is this junk!?" he cried, tongue tied. Alice wrung her hands.

"Uh, well you see seaweed head, its kind of-sort of-my human…artifacts-collection…" she said, nervously. Raven chuckled.

"How rude of me, calling all of this junk. But now I see, it's your collection. Hmmm." he said, putting on a fake smile, and holding up a rifle in one hand.

"IF YOUR UNCLE FOUND OUT ABOUT THIS PLACE HE'D-."

"You're not gonna tell on us, are you!" Gilbert asked, cutting Raven off.

"Come on, seaweed head, please don't, that strict man will never get it through his head." Alice begged, holding the end of Raven's sleeve. Raven narrowed his eyes.

"What makes you think I can keep your secret from your uncle?" he asked, snatching his sleeve away.

"Because if you don't, I swear, I will slice your body with the end of my scythe!" Alice threatened.

"Well, you should have obeyed your uncle's laws! Stupid rabbit!" Raven growled.

"Don't try to make me feel guilty, seaweed head." She said, going to the pile of her collections.

"It's hard enough trying to accept this world's law." She said, putting her collection back on the shelf.

"The law is not fair. What is wrong about the human world that my uncle doesn't like? I mean, if only I can make him see. See that the human world is not all that different from this world." She said, holding a music box and listening to its soft tune. She put the music box on the shelf, and turned to face Raven.

"So please, seaweed head, don't tell on us, please." She said, in a softer tone. Raven sighed.

"B-Rabbit. I'm afraid this place is putting you under a lot of tension." He said, walking up to her.

"Come back to the palace with me, I'll make a nice warm cup of tea for you." He said, grabbing her hand and leading her to the entrance.

Just then, the sound of the wind and something being opened up was coming from outside of the tower. Curious to know what was going on, Alice immediately went outside to see what was happening.

Once outside, mysterious winds started to go in different directions, as if a tornado was forming. The only way the Abyss can have winds is when a transportation portal is forming. The chain-people then watched as a path was opening up in the sky. A ray of light came down and touched the water, making ripples in the black water. It was as big as an F2 tornado, and as bright as the sun.

Alice was amazed by the portal. She had never seen these portals up close, or just never came to face to face with one.

"The portal leading to the human world. Could this be…the Abyss telling me it's my turn to visit the human world?" she asked, smiling.

"Guys, let's not waste anytime here, we need to head back to the palace." Raven said, about to walk off.

Alice didn't hear a word he said, as she immediately ran to the portal. Alice knew that the portal would only stay for a short period of time.

"Alice, don't!" Gilbert yelled out. It was too late; Alice had already entered into the portal.

"You stupid rabbit!" Raven cried.

"Alice, wait for me!" Gilbert yelled out, running to the portal.

"Not you too?! Damnit!" Raven cried, following after Gilbert.

They managed to make it in the portal with Alice. But it was too late to get out, as the portal dragged all three of them to visit on the other side. Now isn't that a fun ride?

…**.**

After about 30 seconds, the three chain-people finally made it to the other side of the portal. The portal was 11 feet above ground. They landed in the meadow, lucky they didn't cause any damage to their bodies.

"Well, there could have been a better way to enter." Alice said, getting up and brushing whatever was on her outfit.

"You stupid rabbit! Do you realize what you've just done?!" Raven exploded, getting up and pointing at her.

"So what? Everything's fine seaweed head." She said, acting as if nothing had happened.

"Everything's fine? Everything's not fine! We are in the human world because of you!" he cried.

"And, what's so wrong about that?" she asked, crossing her arms.

"What's wrong is that you are breaking the law of entering the human world! Doesn't that concern you?!" he asked.

"Hmmm, about that…Nope." She concluded. Raven swallowed a scream.

"Look, can we please not fight, we're here now." Gilbert said.

Alice immediately studied the atmosphere around her. She bent down, examining the earth below her, and felt the grass.

The deep green grass was soft and tickled the palm of her hands, even though she was wearing gloves. She averted her eyes from the ground, and looked up at the sky.

The nighttime in the human world was even more fascinating than she thought. The sky wasn't clear, but she could still spot an orb of light hanging in the sky.

'What was it called?' she asked herself.

'Oh, right, the moon!' she remembered.

That's right, the sun was the general of the daytime, and the moon was the general of nighttime. The moon wasn't bright tonight, since it was covered by the darkness, she guessed. But the moon did shine on the earth in some places.

Just then, she felt a cold breeze passing her.

'It's just as beautiful as I imagined. This must be, 'the wind, that's playing in my hair.' She said to herself, as her long hair flowed in the direction the wind was going.

Alice's tranquil thoughts were cut short by a distant noise. She reopened her resting eyes, and saw a new scenery before her. It was a town, no, a city where most humans live in.

Alice tried to guess which city this was, since there were too many to choose from. She had books on states and countries of the human world. She could still remember what they talked about. She was trying to think of the ones by the, ocean they called it. The one title that kept popping in her head was San Francisco. Yes, no doubt about it, it was San Francisco, the second largest city in the world, right? In the city, bright colorful lights and excitement was going on that Alice was determined to know what was happening.

"We should try to figure out how we're going to get back to the Abyss." Raven said.

"Ok, while you do that, I'm going to check out the city over there." Alice said.

"What! Are you out of your mind!? You're breaking our law!" Raven cried.

"What? I just want a closer look." She said, walking off.

Raven was about to protest, but then let out a sigh, since he didn't want to argue with her anymore.

"Fine, but if you cause more trouble, you will not here the end of it." He warned. Alice just smiled.

She ran down the hill, while Raven let out a groan.

"I just know this is going to be a regretful idea." He whispered, as he watched her run down the hill.

…**.**

Alice ran until she reached the entrance to the city.

Since Alice just wanted to watch whatever the humans were doing. So she decided, 'Why not watch from an overlook.' She went around the part of the city that had the event, and into a dark alley way.

Passing 15 buildings, she picked the one that had crates stacked up half way of the building and a rope ladder finishing the rest of the way up. She climbed up on the crates, and worked her way up the ladder. When she made it to the top, she crawled onto the roof. When she got to the other side, she slid down slowly, trying to be careful. Stopping four feet from the edge, she poked her head out over the edge, and examined the event down below.

The humans were having some kind of party, she thought. There was so much going on, that it made Alice amazed by all the excitement she was seeing.

"Why, do my eyes deceive me? Alice, if it isn't you!" an excited voice came from the left side of her. Alice looked to her left, and saw a familiar face.

It was Break, smiling at her. He still had his outfit on from earlier. He was sucking on a big red and white swirl lollipop.

"Break! What are you doing here?" she asked.

"I'd just thought I'd visit this world, just to get out of the Abyss for a while." He answered, sucking on his candy, enjoying the flavor.

"Oh. Wait, how did you get here? From one of the portals?" she asked, wondering.

"No, I got here with my powers." He answered. Alice couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.

"Powers?" she said, now really confused.

"Oh, there are things about me you don't know, Alice. The magician has many tricks up his sleeves." He said, giving her mysterious eyes. He then got up, and sat down next to her. Alice wrapped her arms around her legs, and looked back at the party.

"So, what brings the adventurous princess here tonight?" he asked.

"Well, she stumbled into one of the portals, and dragged her cowardly kitten, along with a seaweed head raven, with her. And now here she is." She answered, still looking at the party.

"Break, what's going on down there? There's so much excitement going on." She asked.

"Well, from what I heard, the humans are having a festival. It's to celebrate a prince's birthday, and I think his coming of age too." He explained.

"If you want, Alice, we can get a closer view of the party." he offered.

"Well, it beats being up here…" she said. She looks at him.

"Then, sure, why not." She finished, smiling.

"Alrighty then. If you'll let me lead the way." He said, getting up, as Alice followed after him.

…**.**

Both chain-people walked down to the other side of the festival until they reached a barrier wall, where the land and ocean met. The wall was a good hiding spot for them to not be seen by humans, yet still close enough for the two to watch the humans. Alice climbed on top of a big crate, and looked through one of the holes in the wall.

"Wow, it looks like they're having a great time." She said. Break nodded.

"Indeed they are, Alice. It's quite a show, isn't it?" He said, leaning against the wall and licking his lollipop.

Alice found it so interesting how humans were so relaxed and carefree, just like herself. She watched a few of them talk and laugh, while others danced to the music. She couldn't help but giggle, as some kids and teens chased each other around. Nothing could spoil this moment. Alice let out a happy sigh.

"I wish I could join the party." She said, sounding a little disappointed.

"I would be delighted to attend the party as well. But Alice, I'm afraid you just aren't ready to join human society yet. The same goes for me as well." He said, as Alice listened to him.

Alice was about to say something, but a loud cry came from the party. Alice turned her attention back to the party, and saw that the cry/scream came from a woman.

Now, I won't go into details about her description. All I can say is that she was wearing a yellow ball gown. Well, make that a yellow ball gown with a huge tea stain on it. The woman glared harshly at the nervous little girl who was holding an empty tea cup that held her drink.

The little girl was around 8 years of age. She had long blond hair that fell just below her back side, and emerald green eyes. She was wearing a green dress that had a pink rose design on it. She had on a green hat that had a big pink rose in the front, with a black ribbon going around the hat.

"You clumsy brat! Look what you did, you ruined my new dress!" the women screamed. She was about to slap the girl, when a teen boy stopped her.

"Don't you dare lay a finger on my sister! I'm sorry for her sudden action, but please don't show violence at this party!" the blond teen yelled, holding his sister.

The woman turned her nose at the two and walked away, muttering to herself. The blond sighed in relief.

"Thank goodness. Who invited her anyway? You alright Lily?" he asked.

The girl, named Lily, was still shaken up from being yelled at, and started to tear up.

"Oh, Lily I'm sorry. But hey, at least you have a big brother to stand up for you." He said, soothing her.

His sister then hugged him around his neck as he let out a laugh.

"Hey, come on Lily, you're too heavy for this." He said, falling on his knees. She hugged him tighter.

"Alright, Lily, alright. There, there, now." He said, hugging her.

Alice watched as the blond teen hugged his little sister. Her eyes were fixated on him. Even being 18 feet from him, she could see his eyes. 'The same color as the grass,' she thought. The more Alice stared at him, the more she smiled. What was happening to her? Why couldn't she take her eyes off him? Was it his kindness to his sister that charmed her? Alice had no clue why she was stricken by him.

"Ladies and gentlemen, if I can have your silence please!" A voice came from a man, on top of a wooden stage.

He was approximately 6'ft tall and had short brown hair, and wore glasses over his brown eyes. He wore a white blouse shirt, under a sleeveless black robe. A cropped black high collar coat with gold chain buttons. Both the robe and the coat had white designs. Black dress pants, black and gold dress boots, white gloves, white ascot tie, and he wore a pair of black and gold earrings.

Everyone turned their attention to the man on the stage, even Alice and Break.

"The time has come. For Prince Oz Vessalius coming-of-age ceremony. On this occasion, I, Reim Lunettes, will lead the ceremony instead of his father." The man, named Reim, said.

As he bowed, the music started to play. Alice was fascinated by the music.

"And now we invite the one who's about to become an adult into this festival." He finished.

The teen blond, named Oz, walked up on the stage, as the people clapped. Alice clapped along, as Break did also. Oz kneeled in front of Reim, as Reim hovered his right hand over him while the other held a book.

"Light of truth, illuminate thy path. Wind of reason, give thee knowledge. Holy water, heal thee. By the blood and name of Vessalius, I recognize Oz Vessaliusas as an adult…" he said.

Alice couldn't quite hear what he was saying. She decided to move closer to the stage. She climbed down from her spot, and went to the one close to the stage. She had already missed out on the man's speech, as he had closed the book and grabbed a sword, and hovered it over the blond teen.

"Sword of baptism. Rid this man of impurity and give him your blessing." He said, tapping the flat side of the sword on both the teen's shoulders.

"With this, thy body is rid of impurity." He said, lowering the sword down. "Rise, Oz Vessaliusas, go and take the oath." He finished. Oz stood up, and faced the audiences.

"When the day comes for my scarlet heart fades from my body, I, Oz, will uphold the name and pride of the Vessaliusas family. I swear, to the citizens and my friends. I will show mercy on their souls." He said.

The crowed clapped, along with Alice and Break.

"Alright! Settle down everyone! Now next, we give our new head of the Vessaliusas house a very, very, memorial birthday present." Reim said.

"Aw, Reim, I'm very flattered, you couldn't possibly do all that for me." Oz said, giving Reim a big pat on his back.

"Indeed, yes." He dryly muttered.

Oz's present was already on the stage, covered by a red cloth. Two men came up on the stage, and each grabbed hold of the cloth on each side.

"Happy birthday, Oz!" Reim said, cleaning his glasses.

The men pulled down the cloth, and reveled a large, gaudy statue of Oz. Oz just made a bored dull face at it. Alice, on the other hand, couldn't help but giggle, and Break tried to stifle a laugh.

"Oh my." He said, laughing lightly.

"Uh, wow, Reim. This is, err, it's, err-it's an interesting memorial…" Oz said, faking a grin.

"Yes, if I do say so myself. However, I did want your gift to be a wedding present in the future." Reim said. Oz scoffed.

"Reim, don't go there. You can't still be sore because I turned down Princess Dalia from the Garland family, are you?" he said, walking up on top of the barrier wall, under Alice and Break's spot.

Both of them tried to stay hidden in the shadows, as they were listening in on the conversation.

"I'm sorry, Oz. It's just that, I, and your friends, want to see you happily settled down with the right girl." Reim said.

"Oh, my dream girl is out there somewhere. I just…I just haven't found her yet." Oz said, having a sad tone in his voice.

Alice looked at the prince. Now, she didn't know what she was feeling earlier. But she knew she was feeling sorry for the blond human, now. She saw the mood in his emerald eyes turn into loneliness. It made her sad just looking at them.

"Hmmm, perhaps you've been waiting too long." Reim said.

"Don't worry, Reim, when she comes into my life I'll know. No doubt about it. I'll be like…bam! It'll hit me. "Like, lightening." Oz said, sounding dramatic.

Once Oz said that, a sound of lightening could be heard miles away. Five seconds later, another lightning bolt sounded, only it came closer to the party. As more and more lightening came, the winds started to become fierce and swift to the cool, calm winter air. The sky grew dark.

"Thunderstorm approaching! Start fast! Secure the festival!" a male voice said, as drops of rain started to come.

Everyone was packing up things in the streets. The winds were becoming so strong, that it picked up, and blew away debris in different directions.

Alice and Break were running down the streets, not that nobody would notice them. The winds were going straight pass them, while the rain was hitting them like boulders at maximum speed.

"This storm is so powerful!" Alice yelled.

Just then the two were starting to be picked up by the wind. Thinking fast, Break held onto a light pole. He grabbed Alice by the hand, and she held onto the pole. They held onto the pole for dear life, as the wind tried to blow them off.

"Hang on tight Alice! Do not let the wind win!" Break yelled.

Just then, a peace of debris hit him, and he went flying off in the storm.

"Break!" Alice screamed. Break screamed something back, but Alice couldn't make it out.

…**.**

Oz couldn't believe it. Everything had gone wrong. Part of him wished he shouldn't have said the part about lightening.

Oz tried to help people that were taking down street stands. So much was going on, debris was flying everywhere, people were panicking, and the storm was so powerful. How could it get any worse?

Just then, an army of lightening crashed everywhere in the city. Fire was everywhere! This just gets more interesting by the minute!

…**.**

Alice held on tightly to the pole, hoping that she wouldn't let go.

Dark sky and winds became her world in that moment, swirling around her and pulling her feet out from under her.

Her arms were ripped from the pole. As the wind pulled her back, she could feel herself being the debris in the wind. She sucked in a mouthful of wind and drops of water, as she danced with the wind. Her eyes were open the whole time. All she could see was the blue-gray dark around her in all directions. She squeezed her eyes shut as her stomach rose in her throat while she spun all around in the wind, preparing to travel with the wind and be lost forever.

Just then, an arm clasped around her waist tightly. Despite the cold the fabric was still warm. Her eyes snapped open as her flying came to an abrupt halt. She held onto the arm, and turned her head to her left side, and found who had saved her.

Her uncle's servant's right arm was wrapped around a tree trunk, while the other held onto her.

"Raven!?" she yelled. His eyes turned to hers.

"Didn't I say to myself that this was a bad idea!" he yelled.

The wind started to die down, to the point where they didn't have to hang on anymore. Raven let go of Alice, and the two started to climb down the leafless tree.

"Alice!" A voice came at the bottom of the tree. It was Gilbert.

"Gilbert!" Alice shouted, climbing down the tree faster.

As soon as she was at the bottom, she hugged her cowardly friend tightly.

Just then they heard the sounds of lightening crashing down, a lot of lightening. All three of them turned their heads to the direction the sound was coming from. They watched as dozens of lightning bolts came crashing down on the city. Alice was horrified.

"The prince!" she whispered.

Alice immediately ran to the city, leaving Raven and Gilbert behind.

"Hey, stupid rabbit!" Raven yelled, running after her. Gilbert followed after.

…**.**

It was absolute chaos. Buildings were burning; people were yelling and screaming with both pain and fear. Oz felt like he was in a nightmare as he watched the lightning cause huge fires around the city.

"Everybody, to the boats!" a male voice yelled out.

Everyone went to where the boats and ships were. People went on board, while others jumped in the water.

"Where's Lily?!" Oz asked, looking around through the crowd.

He heard a cry/scream from a distance; he turned around to where the sound came from.

Lily was on top of one of the buildings' stairs. Oz could see from a distance.

"Lily!" he screamed.

Oz ran as fast as he could to her, as all the fires started to connect to each other.

Once he finally made it to the buildings' stairs, they started to give up and fall to the ground. Oz watched in horror, as the stairs started to lean forward. Lily was hanging onto the railing.

"Let go Lily! I'm right under you Lily, let go! You can do it Lily!" Oz yelled out to her.

Lily then let go of the railing, and fell 18 feet to the ground below. Oz caught her in time, and started to head back to the ships. Things started to fall in front and behind them, as they ran in the path to the ships.

As Oz ran, he saw a tall, burning tree, that was about to fall and block his path. Thinking fast, he grabbed a nearby sled, and seated his sister on it. Oz decided to let his sister go first.

"Go on without me Lily." He said.

As the tree fell, he pushed the sled with all his force and the sled was able to make it under the tree. When the sled came to a stop, Lily got off and went to go get help. Once the tree fell in the path, Oz went to find a different path to take.

…**.**

No matter where Oz turned, all he could see was fire, and things blocking his path, everywhere. How will he get out of this mess? Oz stopped running and tried to catch his breath.

Unknown to him, he was standing about 16 feet away from a pile of fireworks and gunpowder barrels.

The fire acted smart, as it started to tickle its way to the gunpowder barrels. Oz then sensed something dangerous near him, as he turned to his left. Before he could see the gunpowder barrels, they already exploded along with the fireworks.

They exploded a wooden building, and pieces of the building structure came tumbling down. Oz started to run away, but it was too late. The wooden piece's trapped him underneath. Oz didn't move after that.

…**.**

Alice, along with Raven and Gilbert, finally made it to the city entrance, and saw that the fire had already spread inside the festival. Alice knew, with this entire bonfire in the city, she can't see where she left off in the far away distance.

Alice then had the idea of using one of her powers, telepathy, to see into the eyes of one of the humans up there. Alice closed her eyes, and let her mind race through the city until she reached a human's eyes. She saw everyone scream and panic, as they went on the ships. She spotted the prince looking around as if he was looking for someone.

"Where's Lily?!" he asked.

She then heard a cry/scream from a distance, as did the prince. She looked in the direction where the prince was looking. He was looking through the city entrance. She couldn't see anything, due to the fire being in the way.

"Lily!" the prince screamed.

She then watched as he ran into the burning city. After he went into the city, she couldn't see what was happening where the fire had blocked the scenery. She waited for him, and his sister, to return.

After 15 minutes, his sister came running down, out of the city, without the prince. Now Alice knew where that cry came from, and why the prince ran into the burning city. His sister must have been in trouble, and he went to go rescue her. The question now is where is the prince?

"Lily!" a voice yelled out. It was Reim, from earlier. Lily ran to him, and he held onto her.

"Lily, where's Oz?" he asked.

The blond turned her head in the direction to show him. Alice and Reim both got the message she was telling them. Oz was still in the city.

After another 30 minutes, Alice started to worry. Something was wrong.

Just then, an explosion could be heard from far away. Alice saw smoke rise up over the city. Right after Reim screamed the prince's name, she broke the connection between her and the human's eyes.

"Oz!" she whispered.

Alice knew she couldn't just stand there; she had to go find the prince in the fire.

"B-Rabbit, what's happening?" Raven said, behind her. Alice didn't have time to answer him, as she ran into the city.

"B-Rabbit, what are you doing!?" he yelled. He was about to run after her, but a piece of structure fell and blocked his path.

Great, now there was something he had to worry about.

…**.**

Alice ran through the city streets, passing and dodging falling debris. She followed the trail of smoke, hoping it would lead her to the prince's whereabouts. Smoke and ashes swirled around her.

She didn't come across any other human on her way to the explosion. Twice she had to take different turns, her path blocked by flames or too much debris to get through.

When she finally reached the site of the explosion, she found a pile of wood in the middle of the street. The explosion must have caused a wooden building to crumble down. Even being only 18 feet away from it, she saw an arm sticking out from underneath. She did not need to guess who it was to know that it was the prince. She made her way across the only safe path she could see.

Reaching him, she immediately started lifting and pushing the wood pieces out of the way. Once she freed him, she kneeled down to him. She turned his face to meet hers. His eyes were closed, which could only mean to Alice is that he either would be in a deep slumber or…dead. Alice pushed that thought away. She didn't have time to think about his fate. She pulled him out, and lifted his numb body on her back.

"Don't worry pretty boy, I'll get us out of this." She said, adjusting him on her back.

Once he was in a perfect position on her back, she started to climb up the pile of wood. Knowing she couldn't turn back the other way, as the fire somehow knew her presence was here. The fire wanted to rid her body and the prince's till they were nothing but ashes.

The escape run has just begun as Alice ran/jumped down the wood pile and ran down the red streets of San Francisco, the fire following after her.

…**.**

Things had now gone from bad to worse. How long had she been running? Alice couldn't find her way back to Raven and Gilbert.

No matter what path or turn she took, pieces of burning debris would block her path. She had not believed it could get and hotter until she entered the city.

Alice was trapped in a maze of blazing toxic heat. It was like entering an inferno. 'This must be what hell looks and feels like." The morbid thought crossed her mind absently.

And the fire. Oh, boy the fire. The fire was her predator. It never stopped following her, no matter how she tried to take different paths. She thought the fire was trying to wear her out, so that way, she can finally die from exhaustion and the fire will get rid of evidence of her ever being here. But she wasn't going to dare let the fire do that.

Alice continued running down the streets, with the fire following her. She screamed everytime a blaze of fire would block her path, both in front and back of her. Alice just wanted to fall into a slumber. She was so tired of running, that she was losing air from her lungs. And with carrying the prince around, yeah, even harder for her.

She stopped in a safe spot, only being covered in smoke. Tears leaked steadily from her burning eyes, clouding her vision almost. Leaving tracks through the soot that covered her face. The smoke was getting thicker. She inhaled big breaths of smoke, clouding her lungs. She had to get to higher grounds, out of this fire pit, and she had to do it fast.

After one cough, she saw a pile of crates stacked up next to a 2 story building through her blurry vision. As if God had answered her prayers. Climbing up onto the crates was Alice's only chance to survive. She had to have a first lucky shot at this.

She narrowed her eyes, becoming fierce. She then, leaning forward, pushing the prince up further on her.

With that, she ran to the crates, while the fire followed her. She jumped fast on each crate with such speed. When she got to the last step, she gave herself a strong, force, jump.

The roof was 8 feet away from her, but she was able to reach it with her arms. Alice struggled to get the rest of her body up, as the fire under her raged its flames. Her heart was in terror, as her mind was filled with alarm. The prince slid off her a little, which made her panic even more.

Finally, Alice jumped with all her might and landed on top of the roof on her stomach. The prince on top of her. With a pant, she pulled herself up swiftly, lifting the prince back onto her body. Alice hoped that the air up here would allow herself to breathe better, there was little air but not as much as she would have liked. Alice ran up and down the path of the buildings' roofs, hoping they would lead her back to Raven and Gilbert.

Just after 5 minutes, an unexpected explosion came out of no where. It was a pretty powerful blast. The force pushed Alice off the roof, and she landed into the sea that was close to the buildings. The prince fell off of her as they fell. They both hit the water with a hard splash. Alice's body was numb for a minute, but once her strength came back she swam to the top.

Alice found the prince's numb body still trying to keep afloat. But since the prince wasn't awake yet, he started to sink. Alice immediately dived underwater, holding her breath. It was pitch black, making it harder to see anything. Alice managed to find the prince, sinking and near to drowning. If she didn't act quickly, he was surely going to die. Swimming up to him, she grabbed him around the torso, and used all her strength to pull him up.

Once she had him, Alice swam away from the burning city.

Now Alice had to find land before they died in the icy sea. Alice could see an island in the distance, even though it was pitch black out. Holding the prince tightly, she swam through the cold, rough, dark waters.

Alice finally reached the shore, coughing and panting. She dragged the prince onto the shore. All the nerves in Alice's body couldn't take it anymore. She collapsed on top of him, exhausted. The two stayed like this the whole night, as the city continued burning behind them…

**…**

**And that is where we stop here folks :D You probably don't realize how eager I was to write the part where Alice is rescuing Oz in the fire X) Unlike in the little mermaid; I extended mine for this story. Cause, hey, let's put more in there than just saying "Alice saved the prince from drowning. The End." Now, Oz's POV was probably not that long and creative, but I had to get to Alice's POV somehow. And before you ask. The song that Alice sang is not a copy of the Part Of Your World song. I did change the lyrics to avoid that. But in my version, it shows that Alice was more knowledgeable about human things then Ariel. She knows them by their real names! **

**Please review! That way, I'll post more chapters.**


	4. A Rabbit's Voice

**Chapter 4 is up and ready! Only took me 2 or 3 days to complete. This is going to be a short chapter. That's why it has more words than chapter 1 had. Like chapter 3, I was eager to write this chapter. It's been bugging me since I started chapter 1! Now I can rest in peace; or maybe not. Forget it, on to the story!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pandora Hearts, or The Little Mermaid story, they all belong to their rightful owners.**

**…**

**The Little Chain: Chapter 4**** A Rabbit's Voice**

A shimmering, gold disk began to rise slowly into the dull morning sky. The colors made by the rising sun changed, making the sky more vivid with the passing time. It is the first thing to pierce the darkness, carrying with it the torch of a new day. The sun then pauses for a moment, before it harks its song and takes flight, spilling a golden ray of yellow over the two marooned teenagers on the shore.

The sounds of waves, and the singing of birds, caused the long haired brunette to stir. Alice furrowed her eyebrows as she began to wake up. Fluttering her dopey violet eyes open, she rose into a sitting position. She blinked as she looked around the unfamiliar world she was in.

"Wha-?" She started, then yesterday made its way back into her memory.

'Oh yeah,' She thought, 'I'm in the human world.'

Alice wasn't used to seeing light. She was used to living in darkness in the Abyss before everything that had happened last night came into her life. Well that didn't matter, it's not like her Uncle or anyone would ever tell her what time of day it was in the Abyss.

Then the memory of the prince pounded hard against her. Alice looked down at the teen boy. His eyes still closed as his face looked away from hers. His blond hair, still had some soot from the fire, framed over his eyes and forehead. A smile found a way onto her face, cheeks tinged a light pink. There was that unknown feeling again. Alice couldn't help but admire how the sunlight swept over the blonds handsome like face.

'He looks so…peaceful…' She thought. She ran her fingers over his bangs. Taking one and petting it with her thumb.

"Well, well, look what the rabbit found!" A voice said, not too far from Alice.

Alice turned her head to the direction where the voice was coming from. She was filled with joy when she saw a familiar one eye clown on top of a rocky ledge.

"Break!" she cried.

Break jumped down from the ledge, and Alice immediately went and hugged him tight.

"I thought you didn't make it in that storm." she said, letting go of him. Break giggled.

"It'll take more than that to beat the Mad Hatter." he said. He then looked at the prince's figure.

"Well, miss Alice, aren't you going to introduce me to your new friend?" he asked.

Alice had almost forgotten about the prince. She rushed to his side with Break following after her. He sat on the opposite side of her.

"Well, Miss Alice, this is quite a surprise. You've collected a lot of things, but a human? The next thing you're going to collect is animals." he said, running his hand over the blonde's overcoat.

"Oh he's not an artifact, he happens to be the pretty prince boy, who I have recently saved from being burned in a city fire." Alice said.

"My, Alice, I didn't think you would go as far as this, breaking the rule, to risk saving a humans life." he said.

"What? I couldn't just let him die like that. Besides, I don't think the law says anywhere that we can't save a humans life. I think the humans call that a sin in their books." she said.

Sure, the law in the Abyss says chain-people and creatures can't interact with humans. But not saving them? No, that just can't be right. What Alice did was a brave choice. Now, the question was, did she succeed? Alice then looked down at the human, eyes filled with worry.

"Break…" she said, "He's not…dead…is he?" she asked, the dark question making her tense. Break could see the emotion in her eyes.

"Hmm…I don't know…let's have a look, shall we." He said, taking the prince's hand.

Alice watched as he placed two of his fingers below the blonde's wrist. He did this for about 30 seconds, and then he shook his head.

"Oh, Alice…I hate to tell you this, but…I'm afraid the boy is…done and buried…" he said. Alice froze.

"What!? No! He can't be!" Alice cried. Break dropped his head down, eyes closed.

"I'm terribly sorry, Alice. Some humans just can't live for a long time." He said.

"But he can't be done and buried! I won't believe it!" she said. Alice then got on top of the prince and shook him by the chest.

"Hey, pretty boy, wake up and show this clown that you're not dead!" she said. He didn't respond back. Alice paused for a moment, then she frowned.

"Come on! I risked my own life to save your ass from being burned to ashes and now you're telling me that you're just going to lay here and give up?! Take it like a man!" she yelled, through shakes. The blond still didn't respond. Alice could feel her chest getting tight. She wasn't going to give up.

"Come on! Wakey, wakey! Wake up damnit!" she yelled, while shaking him.

"Alice…" Break said.

"No! He can't die! I won't let him!" Alice cried.

No matter how much she shook him, he wouldn't answer her. Alice could feel the tears inside of her forming.

"Please! Damnit, please wake up!" she said, her voice filled with emotion.

The more Alice looked at his lifeless figure. The more her eyes started to water up. Her chest started to shake heavily. Her tears then started to fall down her blushed cheeks. She then shuts her eyes tightly.

"Damnit!" she cursed through her clench teeth.

'Why can't I hold these damn tears back?' she said to herself.

"No! Please, dear God, no! Don't let him be done and buried! Oh please, prince, please wake up!" Alice cried through hiccups, as she buried her face into his chest. She fisted his coat into her grip, holding on for dear life. Break watched as she begged the blond to wake up.

Alice couldn't believe it. She risked her own life to save a poor boy from being burned to ashes, but yet she failed to save his soul from leaving this world. She just couldn't bear to live with that.

Unknown to Alice, however, Break actually lied to her. He felt the pulse in his wrist beat faintly. Telling him that the boy was alive. But why didn't he tell that to her? Well, he thought that there was something that Alice did not learn yet, and he wanted to show her by letting her find out on her own. Break put on his best act so that she wouldn't see the truth in his eyes.

Alice continued to stain the teens coat with her tears. She then started to hear a few deep thumps under her ear. She paused for a moment, and then opened her eyes. She kept listening to this strange noise in his chest, wondering what it was. To her it sounded like something was trying to break free from inside him. She then rose up, and put her hand to the spot that it was coming from. She felt the throbbing under her fingers. Was there some kind of creature trying to get out of him?

"Break, I keep feeling and hearing this weird thump in his chest. I think there's some kind of creature trying to come out of him." Alice said, her hand still on his chest. Break gave her a confused look.

"Weird thump?" he asked. He then put his hand to where Alice pointed and felt the thump in his chest. He then couldn't help but giggled at this. Alice had a confused look on her face.

"Oh my, Alice, you're just too cute. This 'weird thump' you're hearing and feeling is his heartbeat." Break said. Alice blinked.

"Heartbeat? What kind of a creature is that?" she asked, tilting her head to the side. Break giggled more.

"No, no, Alice. A heart isn't a creature. It's an organ that keeps a person alive. Therefore, it pumps the flow of blood through your entire body. You and I have one as well." He explained, putting his hand where his own heartbeat was.

Alice copied what he was doing, and put her hand to her chest. Feeling her own heartbeat. So that's what that tight throbbing was in her chest whenever she got scared, nerves, or had that strange feeling. It was rather silly how a girl like her didn't know such a thing.

"But Alice…." Break said. She looked up at him. "If his heart is beating, that means he's alive." he finished.

New tears of joy filled in Alice's eyes at his words. She didn't fail at saving his soul at all! But now the question was, why is he not waking up?

"Well, if he's alive. Then why isn't he waking up?" Alice asked, looking down at the human.

"There is a related word that means he's in a deep sleep. The boy must be having trouble waking up." Break said, putting a finger to his lip and then looking at the human. Alice then had a thought.

"Well, I'll help him wake up." she said.

Break watched as Alice ran a hand down his face, turning it to face her, and then bending down to his ear. Alice's idea was to wake him up by singing to him. As she started humming, she tried to think of words to say. The feeling inside her helped her by giving her the perfect song.

"_What can I do_

_To be who you are?_

_What would I do_

_Just to lay here close to you?"_

She sang, smiling, while playing with his hair.

The idea of waking someone up by singing came from a dream that Alice had a long time ago. A woman, who looked similar to her, sang an unrecognizable tune in her dream. The woman's native tongue woke her from her sleep.

Break stood far away from her as he watched. He thought that he give her space.

"Hey you!" A distant voice yelled out. Break turned to see a man and a boy running down the shore.

It was Raven and Gilbert. What happened to them after Alice went into the burning city to rescue the prince. Use your imagination.

"Excuse me; have you seen a girl who goes by the name Alice?" Raven asked, catching his breath a little.

"Alice? Well, if you mean the Alice with long brown hair and not lady like. Then yes, she's right over there." Break answered, pointing to where Alice was.

Both boys followed Breaks eyes and saw Alice, on top of a human boy. She had her head to his ear.

"_What would I do just to make you_

_Stay here with me?"_

She sang. Raven was more than shocked at this. His eyes were the size of dinner plates. His face all red. Both his hands were covering his mouth, as if holding back a scream.

Break, on the other hand, first blinked at this, and then smiled. Gilbert just blinked at this. Alice didn't notice Raven and Gilbert. She was lost in her singing.

"_I would change_

_Who I am_

_Just to stay with you on this land."_

…**..**

Oz thought he was good as dead when pieces of the building structure collapsed on top of him. But once he felt himself being free from being caged under the wood, and for some strange reason, feeling the grass underneath him, it changed any disbelief that he wasn't on earth anymore.

Oz was having trouble finding his conscious. During this, he heard the sound of someone singing. Oz thought that, whoever it was, was trying to wake him up by following their voice. The more he listened to the voice, the more he started to stir.

While he was doing this, he could feel the weight of someone or something on top of him. He then felt, what he thought was, a hand on his face. He weakly went to touch it with his bare hand, and his thought was right. The fabric on the hand was warm, and a little small.

Oz kept listening to the voice that was singing to him. He was trying to get every detail off of it. He knew right away it was a person, a female voice. Was it a woman? No, it was a girl. Her voice sounded like she was around his age, but slightly younger than him. Her voice was soft and light, the tune sounded unrecognizable. Oz swore that it was the most beautiful voice he had ever heard from any girl.

Once he had enough conscious, he tried opening his eyes. The soot, and for some strange reason, salt were stinging them. Rays of light started to shine, making his vision more blurry.

"_Just wait and see_

_Cause one day I'll be _

_Part of your world…"_

The voice sang her last words.

After Oz groaned, the blurred figure rose up and looked down at him with surprised eyes. He looked at her stunning purple eyes; they made her have the image of a rabbit. Besides the eyes, the rest of her was a silhouette.

"Wh-who are you?" he asked weakly. He saw the shape in her eyes changed, realizing the figure was smiling at him.

"Oz!" A distant voice called out. He could also hear the sound of a barking dog.

The female figure turned to where the dog was barking. The noise was coming closer.

"Quickly, everyone! Let's get out of here before we're discovered!" An unrecognizable male voice yelled out, not too far away.

Oz only blinked once and the female figure was gone. While his vision was coming into focus, a border collie finally caught up to him. The dog first sniffed him, and then licked his face. The dog then barked to alert the others that he found the prince.

As Oz started to weakly get up, the search party came running down the shore, calling out to him. Oz recognized them as his friends. Lilly was the first to catch up to him, and hugged him tightly. As Oz coughed, Sharon, followed by Echo, Leo, and Reim, went up to him and pulled him into a tight hug.

"Oh, Oz, thank goodness you're alright!" Sharon cried, a tear falling down her flushed face.

"Echo is glad to see her friend still alive!" Echo cried.

"We thought you were gone for good!" Leo cried.

"Thank you, God, for letting this boy live!" Reim cried, thanking the lord.

"You idiot! We searched all night to find your ass! What bloody hell nonsense do you have to 'self-sacrifice' yourself like that?!" Elliot yelled, keeping a stoic look on his face. He didn't bother to hug his 'idiotic friend'. But deep down, he was happy to see Oz alive.

While everyone kept a tight hold on him, the dog ran, jumped, and barked happily around them.

"G-guys…not so tight." Oz squeaked out.

"Alright, that's enough! Let's not let him suffocate!" Elliot said. Everyone let go of the blond.

"Oz-Kun, how did you survive that dreadful fire?" Sharon asked, helping him up.

"And how in the world did you get all the way over here?" Leo asked, also helping him up. Once Oz was back on his feet, he looked around.

"I think…someone saved me." he said. Everyone exchanged confused glances.

"But, Oz, there's no one on this island except us." Sharon said. Oz was still looking around, searching for his mysterious savior.

"I know someone saved me! It was a girl. I-I couldn't see the rest of her. But, she had these gorgeous purple eyes! And she was singing to me! Her-voice…was the most-beautiful melody I've ever heard!" he exclaimed.

Oz then felt a sharp pain in his head, he then held onto his head as he started to fall backwards. Luckily, Reim was able to catch him from behind.

"Oz, I believe you breathed in too much smoke." he said, giggling a little. Elliot rolled his eyes.

"Enough of this 'Mysterious Female' nonsence, let's just get back to our regular lives and never set foot here again." he said.

Sharon and Leo decided to come to Oz's aide by helping him walk ,due to the sharp pain in his head , he couldn't walk properly.

"It's alright Oz, you'll feel better once we get you home." Sharon said. Oz didn't listen to a word she said. All that was on his mind was his mysterious female savior.

'Who was that girl anyway?' he asked himself. 'Could she be my dream girl?'

…**..**

Unknown to him and the others, Oz's savior was on top of a rocky ledge in the distance, along with the other three men.

"I regret, from the time we left the Abyss to now, ever happening. The king must never know about this." Raven said.

"I won't say a word. You won't say a word. And YOU won't say a word." he said, pointing to Gilbert and Break. Both boys nodded.

"I swear on my one eye." Break promised, winking his only eye.

Alice was at the edge of the ledge, laying on her knees and clutching her hand to her chest. Her 'Heart' was tight and beating fast. She still did not know what this feeling was. Alice looked down at the teen blond, who was being helped by the search party to head back where he came from.

'Oz huh? Simple, but cute name.' she said to herself, learning the humans name.

As a passing wind came, the stirring feeling inside her gave her new words to say. Alice decided to let it all out.

"_I don't know why_

_I just can't believe_

_That something is happening to me…"_

She sang, as a smile was finding its way to her face. As her hair danced in the wind, she faced the edge of the cliff, still on her knees.

"_Oh, I won't get free_

_Till I can be…"_

She sang. She then positioned her legs to kneel and crossing arms against her chest.

"_Part of your_

_World…"_

She sang, the last word being on a high note.

As she sang on the high note, she rose herself up with her arms spread out. Birds, butterflies, and even leaves flew out of the trees and followed in the direction the wind was going. As if they were Alice's instrumental music.

Alice sang the high note for about 10 seconds, and then continued watching the teen blond until he was out of sight.

…**..**

Unknown to Alice and the others, they were being watched by Cheshire and Vincent from the lower parts of the rocky ledge.

"Oh, Bloody Black Rabbit, you've done it now. Hehe. This is too fun that I can't watch it. The B-Rabbit girl is starting to have feelings for a human boy. But not just any boy-a prince! And her first words to her Uncle will be 'Uncle Oswald, I have this weird feeling towards a human boy. Do you know what it is?'." The mysterious female in the shadows said, laughing.

"Oh, her Uncle will have a heart attack." She said sarcastically. She was moving in the shadows, her pink eyes still glowing.

"Now that we know how to trick this girl. I think it's about time we introduce ourselves, yes?" she asked her valet's. Both boys nodded and snickered. The female chuckled.

"Also, she would make a perfect display for my ravishing collection." She said, her eyes becoming sinister. She then laughed viciously…

**…**

**Did I say this chapter was going to be short? Well anyway, that wraps up chapter 4 with, yet, another cliffhanger :D Still trying to figure out who the villain is? I think this chapter will give you the hint. Don't worry; I'll reveal her in, probably, chapter 6. As for Alice not knowing what the hell a heart or love is. You can probably tell by now that Alice never read a fairy tale book in her life. Uh, the ones with romance in it like Cinderella, and such.**

**Please review! If you like what you read.**


	5. After The Fire

**Onward to chapter 5! Only took me 3 days to write, wait, 3 days!? Ok guys, if this chapter felt short, I'M SO SORRY! I swear, this chapter wasn't SUPPOSED to be short! Aw well, at least it has more words than chapters 1 and 4 ^^; In this chapter, I tried to put more feeling into it, if you can tell. And I got stuck in some parts too. Well, I hope you enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pandora Hearts, or The Little Mermaid story, they all belong to their rightful owners.**

******…**

**The Little Chain: Chapter 5**** After The Fire**

The month of February had started. A month had passed since the fire incident in San Francisco. Things had actually changed around quite a bit. Alice and Gilbert were spending more time at Breaks home, and Raven kept his watch on Alice as he was ordered. But that's not the important thing that has changed, here's what has changed.

Alice. Alice's atmosphere is what had changed the most. For the past month, she had been spending less time going out and discovering human artifacts. She barely pays any attention to anyone around her. She kept flying and walking into walls or anything in her path. She's been smiling, giggling, and talking to herself. Dancing in the air, as if she were a feather. She had been daydreaming, humming a tune to herself, and playing and fixing her hair. She's even been wearing dresses sometimes, and pulling petals off flowers!

So, in other words, Alice's behavior was becoming more girly than her usual tomboyish nature. No one knew what was up with Alice, but part of them probably knew the answer.

It was 8 in the morning, at the palace the sisters were in the dressing room, preparing themselves for the day.

"Alice, are you done yet?" Ada asked, knocking on the door to the bathroom.

"Please do come out, Alice. We ladies do have to share and you've been in their almost all morning." Zwei said.

The two sisters can hear noise and moving inside the bathroom. After waiting for 10 minutes, the girls got inpatient.

"I've had just about enough of this!" Ada said, "Alice, dear, it's time to come out-"She paused.

Once Ada opened the door, Alice emerged right out, humming and dancing to herself. Her eyes had a dazed look to them. Alice was still in her red and white nightdress. All her sister's gave her confused looks.

"Alice?" Ada said, Alice didn't respond to her.

"What's gotten into her lately?" Vanessa asked.

…

What Alice was feeling inside her was utterly enchanting. She can already feel her mind flowing again. Her heart was beating for miles. Her stomach did back flips. Her body could not stop tingling all over. All this made her sing, dance, giggle, and smile. And do other girly things. It was so weird.

Alice was lost in this unknown feeling. It was all because of that boy.

The image of him was there when she woke up in the morning and when she went to sleep. He was there whenever she blinked her eyes. He was there when she daydreamed. The list goes on!

Alice was not aware of her sister's presence, she continued singing and dancing across the room. She danced her way to a flower vase, and grabbed hold of all the flowers in both her hands and breathed in their scent. The sweet, soft fragrance made her throw the flowers high in the air, while all the petals fell down like rain drops.

Alice imagined herself in a meadow, with the warm sunlight on her pale skin, and the scent of spring in the air. While the image of the meadow swirled together through her mind in a slow waltz, the fiddling carillon of a lovely offspring like melody on a piano played in the background. A violin came into play with the piano, soft, but strong in emotion, a beautiful ballroom of music.

As Alice dreamt of this pleasant aura, the image of the blond teen came in and joined her in her dance. Like children, they spun each other around while laughing playfully. This spring human world. The prince dancing with her. It was all so relaxing and enchanting, this childish yet pleasant world.

Suddenly, as Alice got dizzy from spinning, she fell backwards while raising her arms in the air and rolled backwards on the ground. The sudden action snapped her out of her daydream and back into reality. Alice stopped rolling in the middle of the room. She pulled herself up on her back into a sitting position. Rubbing her head, she looked straight ahead at the bed where she came from.

Realizing that she was spinning on top of a bed and fell backwards from dizziness, rolling backwards on the floor and stopping in the middle of the room.

Alice's sisters gathered around her with speechless faces. She just looked at them with an embarrassed face.

"Alice, are-"Ada said, reaching out to her.

She was cut off by Alice crawling away from them. Alice then got up and walked backwards out the door, not taking her eyes off them. Just as she was at the entrance, she bumped into someone behind her. She turned around and met her uncle's eyes.

"Umm…morning, Oswald…" She said, smiling while walking out the door slowly as she looked at him.

Once she was in the hallway, she immediately flew off as everyone watched her leave.

"Uh, ladies, you mind telling me what happened to Alice?" Oswald asked.

"I don't know, uncle. She's been acting like this for a month now." Zwei said.

"She's been doing nothing but acting all girly by dancing, singing, and always having that dazed look." Vanessa said.

"I think Alice is finally growing into a woman everyone." Celia said.

"Woman? What do you mean?" Oswald asked.

"Oh, uncle, isn't it wonderful? I think Alice might be in love." Ada said, smiling while her hands were on her cheeks.

"Alice? In love?" Oswald said, a smile finding its way on his face. Oswald was surprised that Alice was finally growing up after all.

…**..**

Alice could not believe what just happened back there. She changed her mind about what she said in her thoughts about that dream like state. This was getting out of control! What did that boy do to her to make her act like this?

Alice decided to visit Break again. This time, she was determined to find an answer to her problem.

Alice met up with Gilbert and Raven soon after she was dressed and ready. They then headed to meet up with their white haired friend again. It was different having Raven around. Since, well, Alice and Raven never hung out with each other. But since he knew about her secret and everything, there's no reason to hide from him.

At Break's home, everyone was in the library, doing their own thing. Break was enjoying his cup of tea and goodies at the tea table. Raven was pacing around, thinking how long they can keep this secret hidden from the king. Gilbert just sat down on top of books, not knowing what to do.

Alice, on the other hand, was searching through books to find the answer to her problem. She would toss a book to the ground when she didn't find the answer in it.

"Alright, a month has passed now. But I don't think the king knows." Raven said, a cigarette half way done in between his fingers.

"But I don't think we can keep this secret from him any longer." He finished, worrying. Break took a sip from his tea.

"Why the puzzled face Raven?" he asked. Raven frowned.

"What's wrong is I fear for the king finding out that we all have gone to the human world and broke the rules. And I don't understand how I got stuck with you three!" he exclaimed.

"Fear not, Raven. As long as we don't say a word, we will be safe." Break said.

"Why do I not believe you?" Raven asked. Break giggled.

Just then, a book slapped against the black haired men's head.

"Hey, stupid rabbit! Watch where you're throwing!" he growled, rubbing his head.

"Shut it, seaweed-head! I'm trying to find answers here!" Alice said, looking through a book. After she flipped through the pages, she, once again, tossed it in the air like she did to all the rest of the 50 books she looked through. The boys got concerned about her frustration.

"Miss Alice, what is it that you're looking for?" Break asked.

"I'm trying to find the answer to my problem!" Alice answered, frustrated.

"And that would be?" Break said. Alice sighed in frustration.

"For the past month, I've been having this strange unknown feeling inside me. I don't know what the hell it is. But it's been going out of control. It's turning me into a girly girl. Meaning its making me do all kinds of girly things. And it's all because of that princely boy. I mean, what did that boy do to me? I mean, ever since I saved him, he's all I could think about!" she protested, Still looking through every book. A thought then came to her.

"Maybe…he must have put a spell or something on me!" she cried.

She then flew away from the shelves, and went down to the tables. Where she looked through a spell book.

"Is it hypnosis…no. Maybe hypnotize…no! Brainwashing…no!" she said, reading every spell she could think of.

"Alice…" Break said.

"Maybe it was witchcraft…no, no, no." she said, not hearing Break.

"Alice, dear…"

"Was it an alchemy spell…no!"

"Alice…"

"Damnit! Can't these books tell you anything!?"

"ALICE!" Break yelled out.

"What?!" Alice cried back. Break tried to calm himself.

"Alice, take a breather." he instructed. Calmly.

Alice did as she was told, and breathed in and out. After 10 seconds of this, she was clam enough to speak.

"Break. What's wrong with me? Why can't I stop thinking about that boy?" she asked. Break took another sip from his tea.

"Well, miss Alice. Let me ask you this. What is it about this boy that you can't stop thinking about?" he asked. Alice shrugged.

"I don't know. Really. I mean, I don't know what's so great about him anyway. He's seriously so weak, letting some kid and fire get the better of him. And then he tries to act all innocent and helpless, just so I can save his ass. He thinks he can get to me with those "Charming his sister" act, and that…that…smile, and that deep, deep sunshine glow." She said, letting out a happy sigh.

Realizing what she had just said. Alice snapped out of her dazed like state, and ruffled through her hair in frustration.

"See what I mean, Break. He did something to me and I don't know what!" she cried, holding her head. Break put a hand to his chin.

"Hmmm…well, well, well, Alice. This is something very serious here." He said, smiling.

"No shit, clown." She said.

"Appropriate languages please, Miss Alice." Break said. Alice rolled her eyes.

"Can you just tell me what's wrong, clown?" she asked, getting impatient. Break puzzled.

"Well, do you know?" Alice asked.

"As a matter of fact. I do know, Miss Alice." Break said. Alice moved closer to him by rudely sitting on the table.

"Really?! Tell me, tell me, tell me! I must know!" she exclaimed. Break giggled.

"I'm sorry, Alice. But I'm afraid I'm not telling you." He said, putting a finger to his lip.

"What?! You liar!" she yelled, annoyed. Break took another sip of his tea.

"I did say you could ask, but I didn't say that I would answer." He said, giving her a childish face.

"Then how am I supposed to know the answer?!" she asked, more pissed then annoyed.

"By treasure hunting, of course. You have to find it on your own through adventure, Alice." he said.

"Fine then. Don't tell me! This isn't worth my time anyway!" she said, flying off the table and heading out the door.

"Alice. Wait for me!" Gilbert said, following after her.

Once Alice and Gilbert were out of site, Raven turned to the one eyed man.

"Why couldn't you just tell her the answer?" he asked, smoking his cigarette.

"Because, it's just more fun this way! Besides, I want her to find out on her own. So she can learn more about this feeling the further she goes." Break said, stacking the empty tea wear on his head. Raven looked down.

"But let me give you a piece of advice…" Break said. Raven looked up, "Don't tell her what the feeling is." he finished. Break took a sugar cube out of a jar and ate it.

"As I just said, she must learn about this feeling on her own." he said, eating another sugar cube. Raven blinked at this, and then nodded.

…

"Why won't that clown give me the answer?!" Alice muttered to herself, "Does he want me to throw a fit?!" she finished.

Alice flew 15 minutes away from Break's home, and finally stopped to sit on top of a rock.

"Oh. What's the matter with me anyway? You think a girl would know what she's feeling." She said, resting her face on her hands.

Why was it so hard to find the answer to what her feelings were to that boy? Everything about him made her feel like she never felt this way about anyone before.

Oz. Every day and night, he wouldn't leave her thoguhts. The way he looks…so happy, and innocent. With that golden blond hair, that has stick outs.

And those eyes, those pretty emerald eyes that have emotion in them. You can tell what that boy is thinking for miles.

His scent. She thinks she's known it anywhere now. When she was on top of him on the shore, she still remembered his scent. He smelled of ashes, smoke, fire, and most of all the sea. But under all of that, she could smell his real scent. The smell of soap, grass, and roses. It was a sweet fragrance, she's smelled roses before.

And his voice. Still maturing, but so bright, happy, confident, intelligent, and-.

'Huh? What am I saying? I shouldn't be having those thoughts!' Alice said to herself, wrapping her legs close to her while blushing.

Again she was having this thought, only this time feeling annoyed about it. Why was she having these thoughts? Why did he make her feel this way? Why did she even care? All these questions floated around in her head.

Alice then took out a rabbit from inside her coat. It was a plain black rabbit doll with red eyes. It was dressed in a little red poncho, and wore a large bow on its chest.

This was a doll given to her by Oswald, saying that it was from her mother, as a child. Alice never knew she even had a mom and dad until she asked one of the maids about it when she was younger. Oswald never spoke of her. But when he gave her the rabbit, he told her that she looked so much like her mother. He was happy, but sad at the same time when he talked about her mother. She must have been very important to him.

Wait, why did Alice even care about her Uncle anyway? He was very strict towards her, her whole life, why should she feel bad for him? Alice pushed the thought of her Uncle away and back to the teen blond.

She hadn't carried the rabbit doll wherever she went since she was a child. But she recently started carrying it around ever since the prince was on her mind. The rabbit didn't have a name, but Alice recently has been naming the doll Oz. See how crazy this is!

Alice continued staring at the lifeless doll. A thought then crossed her mind. Alice then looked down at her reflection in the black, murky, water.

Nothing was there, except that there was a huge muscular humanoid black rabbit. It had red pupils and fangs. It was dressed in the same clothes as Alice, except instead of a skirt it wore black pants. It also didn't have heels on the bottom of its boots. It was in the same position as she was.

To those who don't know, this was Alice's chain form. Her other form of the blood-stained black rabbit. While in her human form, her other form can only be seen by reflection in a mirror, water, etc. It was different to not know what you look like in the reflection as a human in the Abyss. But when you are in your chain form, you can see the reflection of your human self.

The more Alice looked at her chain form, the more she thought. She thought how different she was compared to the human boy.

Knowing that she was a chain-princess who had powers that anyone can dream of. And lived in a mysterious world called the Abyss, which was far different from any other human world.

The blond teen, she had met, was a human prince who possessed no powers at all. He was just a normal everyday teen who lived in a normal world where there was always sunlight. And there was always a moon to wish upon. In a world, where, perhaps, everyone is free to lead their own lives.

In the Abyss, however, Alice did not know about the free part. But she did know her Uncle would forbid her from ever being a pure blooded human and being free as a princess.

She also did know that she wished she could lay in the warm sunlight in a spring meadow. Till then, when the sun was gone, she would wish upon a moon. Instead of always living in a world where there was no sun or moon. Where it was always dark and cold, and the ground was just dark water.

If only both hers' and the prince's world were together, that way everyone can be equal, and she and he wouldn't be so different from each other.

Alice looked back at the rabbit doll, its crimson eyes meeting her violet ones.

"Would you care if I was a monstrous chain?" she asked the doll named Oz. In reality, she was asking the prince. She got no answer from the toy.

"Alice!" a distant voice called out. Alice turned around and saw Gilbert flying up to her.

"Alice, come with me! You have got to see this!" he said, excited.

"What is it, Gilbert?" Alice asked.

"You'll see. It's a surprise." He said.

Alice then got up, and followed after him. Still holding the rabbit in her hand.

Along the way, Alice thought of something. She now had a new dream to accomplish. Not only did she wish to become a human. But wished to see this prince boy again, to see Oz.

She knew something was starting right now.

…**..**

Oz leaned against the balcony rail. This was the hundred time he did this. He couldn't stop thinking about it, about the mystery female. She was on his mind every day.

Ever since he met her on the shore, the image of her kept popping into his thoughts, while her voice rang in his ears. After he gained his strength back, he would set out to search for her.

He searched far and wide, but he could not find her. He asked every man in the mansion to ask every girl in the city if it was they who saved his life. They all came back negative. He also looked at all the pictures of every girl in the city, and none of them matched the image of the mystery girl in his memory. He asked every girl to sing to him, and none of them can make the voice he heard from the mystery girl.

She was a mystery all right. But was she the real thing, or did he just imagine her? No, she was real.

He thought that since she had the most beautiful voice, then she must be the most beautiful girl he had ever seen in his life. The only thing he was able to see, were her eyes.

Those sweet, gorgeous, stunning, amethyst eyes. They really did shine like gem stones. They were so sweet, cute, and innocent. They must have made her have a lovable smile.

He also knew that she had long hair. Due to seeing pieces of hair sticking out.

Her scent, when he was on the shore with her, smelled of rain, smoke, fire, and mostly of the sea. But he smelled her real scent, this soft lavender fragrance.

And her voice, oh boy her voice. So soft and light, it was an unrecognizable tune.

The thought of this made Oz take out his pocket watch. He snapped it open, listening to the tune of its music. The melody made him think of her child like song she sang to him. Her voice haunted him.

Oz set the watch next to him, as he rested his head on his palms. Closing his eyes, he imagined his mysterious savior. Smiling when she came into his mind.

"Master Oz!" a voice called his name. Oz turned to see Reim at the doorway.

"Oz, have you seen the statue?" he asked, catching his breath.

"Not since this morning. Why?" he said.

"It's been stolen!" Reim shrieked.

"It was?..." Oz said.

"Yes! It's not in the garden anymore!" he cried.

"Well I had nothing to do with it." Oz said, being honest. Reim groaned.

"This can't be happening! Help! Search the area! There's been a robbery!" he screeched, running down the hallway. Oz just sighed at this.

Well, wherever it was, it was long gone for sure. Thank god some idiot decided to steal it. Oz went back to his tranquil thoughts on the mystery girl.

He thought about what Leo said about him finding his dream girl.

'_Oz, there are a lot of fine young lady's out there, and the dream girl you want will probably be here tonight.' _The memory echoed in his ears.

Leo was right, someone was at the festival that day, a girl who might have been his dream girl he had been searching for his whole life. But instead of him finding her, she found him.

As if god had sent an angel out to rescue his soul. He never even got to thank her. Oz picked up the watch and held it close to him.

'If you're out there, thank you, for saving my life.' He said to himself.

Oz looked out over the horizon, the sunset that was filtering a darkening purple cast beautifully in the sky.

'Some day…' he said, 'I will find you…' he finished.

This was Oz's wish, to find his mystery savior, his dream girl. And he was gonna love her no matter what.

He knew something was starting right now.

…**..**

"Is that you, Raven? Yes, come in, Raven." Oswald said, sitting on his throne.

He had ordered one of his henchmen to go fetch Raven. Saying that he wanted to talk to him about something, privately.

Raven continued walking down to the other side of the throne room. Nervous he was, to hope that it wasn't something about B-Rabbit. Once he was in front of the king, he tried to act calm to speak.

"Yes, you wanted to see me, master?" he asked, calmly.

"Yes, Raven, there's something I have to ask you." Oswald answered, putting his fingers together.

"What is it, master?" Raven asked.

"Well, Raven, for the past month now. Alice's behavior has been…different." Oswald said. Raven still tried his best to stay calm.

"Different? How so?" he asked, trying to act as if he didn't know about this.

"I mean, she's been acting odd. She hasn't been acting like herself, lately. It's now making me anxious." Oswald said.

"How is B-Rabbit not acting like herself?" Raven asked curiously.

"Well, like, talking nonsense, bumping into walls and objects, dancing like a feather, sometimes wearing dresses, singing to herself." Oswald said, listing everything.

"You have not been aware of this strange aura, Raven?" he asked inpatient.

"Uh…well, you see, mas-"

"Raven…" Oswald said, cutting off Raven. Raven looked up at his master, nervously.

"Yes, master…?" he whispered, slowly.

"Come closer, please." Oswald said, smiling evilly as he gestured his index finger.

As Raven moved closer to him, he yelled 'Don't panic, Don't panic, Don't panic!' to himself.

"Raven, I believe that you've been hiding something from me…" Oswald said. Raven started sweating.

"Um…hiding…something?" he said, nervously.

"About Alice?" Oswald said. Raven's hands started to shake; he hid them behind his back.

"B-Rabbit?..." he said, smiling nervously. Oswald got up from his chair, and moved closer to him till they were one inch apart.

"In love?..." he said, smiling while holding Raven's chine with his index finger.

Raven was now as pale as a ghost, and shook violently.

"I'm sorry, master! She wouldn't listen to me! She dragged us all to the human world! But she didn't stop there! She went into a city full of humans! "Master, I-" Raven cried, as he pushed the king back into his chair, and gripping his overcoat.

"Humans? WHAT DO YOU MEAN HUMANS!?" Oswald shrieked, cutting off Raven as he flung out of his seat and glared furiously at the black haired man.

Raven gasped, as he fell under the king's anger. Raven will now regret blurting out the truth.

"What? Humans? W-w-what do humans have do to with anything?" he said, nervously, acting like that didn't just happen now.

Oswald grabbed his servant by his cravat tie, and looked him straight in the eye.

"Raven…tell me the truth." He said sharply. Raven couldn't help it and gulped…

**…**

**BUSTED! XD Well, we knew this kind of thing WAS going to happen anyway, right? So tell me, how did I do with putting feeling into this chapter? I hope it didn't suck. Authors everywhere, please don't hate me ): Anyways, wee, Alice's feelings are growing stronger! And what about Oz? Let's see what happens! I know some of you are just thinking 'Let the damn romance start already!' Please be patient, let me think…I am going to spoil a bit and say that you're going to have to wait till later on in the story for the OzXAlice to finally start. If I can make it that far into the story :) **

**Anyways, what is Oswald going to do once he knows the truth? What will Alice do then? And who is the villain in the story!? All these questions will be answered in next month's issue. So stay tuned!**

**So, please review! If you don't it'll make me SO sad T.T. **


	6. The Kings Anger, Deal With The Witch

**And we have chapter 6! The chapter you've all been waiting for. The one that will answer the cliffhangers. Like, our villain! And guess what guys, this chapter took me 5 days to write! Just like chapter 3 XD So sit back, and watch as we watch our main protagonist making a deal with the witch.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pandora Hearts, or The Little Mermaid story, they all belong to their rightful owners.**

**…**

**The Little Chain: Chapter 6**** The Kings Anger, Deal With The Witch**

"Gilbert, why can't you just tell me already?" Alice Asked.

"I told you, it's a surprise." Gilbert said.

Gilbert had been leading Alice to the tower. Telling her that there was a surprise there that might make her squeal.

Once the teens got into the main room, Alice's jaw dropped. There in the middle of the room, was the statue of the prince. Alice was speechless.

"What do you think, Alice?" Gilbert asked.

"Gilbert I…" Alice said, "Oh My God, Gilbert! You're amazing!" Alice finished, hugging Gilbert while spinning around.

"This statue is a perfect replica of him. It even has the details of his face." Alice exclaimed, twirling and flying around the statue in excitement.

She stopped flying, and looked at the statues face. The memory of the men presenting the statue to the blond teen as a present, made her giggle so much.

"What's that, Oz? Become a human and run away from here to be with you?" Alice giggled, pretending like she was actually talking to the teen.

"This feels so…so strange…." She whispered, pressing her back to the statue with dazed eyes. Alice had so much laughter in her, which she couldn't help but dance around the room.

The good vibe she was feeling disappeared when she saw who was standing at the doorway.

"Oswald...!" Alice gasped.

Her uncle just stood there, his upper body hidden in the shadows. Glaring at her with such intensity and hatred, as if he was prepared to murder someone. His hands were in tight fists, and he was trying to unclench them.

Raven revealed himself, as he stood four feet from him. He was worried, and had guilt in his eyes.

"I'm calling this incident a disobedient alibi." Oswald said sharply. "This world created laws, and everyone is ordered to obey those laws." he said sharply, moving out of the shadows. Alice's eyes were filled with terror.

"Oswald I-"

"Tell me if I'm wrong, Alice. You went to the human world and saved a human in a fire." Oswald said, cutting her off.

"Uncle, I had to-"

"A human and a chain bonding together is illegal in the Abyss. Alice, you know that! Everyone here knows that!" Oswald shouted.

"But he would have died without me!" Alice said.

"One weak human dying isn't my concern!" he said, turning around.

"I can't believe this! You're being coldhearted when you don't even know him!" Alice said sharply. Oswald turned around.

"Know him? I don't need to know him! He's a human, they're all the same! Savage, warfare, despicable, sick demons! Heartless mortals-"

"Oswald, I'm attracted to him!" Alice burst out. She gasped at this and covered her mouth. Raven was shocked.

"No…" Oswald said, shocked.

Alice, mouth still covered, pressed her back to the statue. Her eyes then started to have emotion, as she uncovers her mouth.

"Do you realize what you are getting yourself into?" Oswald asked sharply. Alice narrowed her eyes, and looked down. Not meeting his eyes.

"He's a human, you're a chain!" he shouted. Alice crossed her arms.

"It doesn't mean anything." She said, her voice having emotion.

"I've had enough of this. Alice, I'm going to get this through your head." Oswald said sharply, getting serious.

Alice could tell that he was going to do something. Scared of what was coming, she pressed herself against the statue, arms uncrossed and locking her knees; she was ready to defend herself if necessary.

"And so help me, if this is what you deserve…" Oswald said, "Then it shall be." He sharply finished.

Oswald then summons his chain form, the gryphon, and begins to knock over the first shelves of artifacts with his claws.

"Oswald...!" Alice exclaimed.

Her uncle ignored her, as he continued smashing, knocking, and blasting the artifacts with his claws, feet, tail, and wings.

The whole room was red around Alice. She was in a terror of darkness. She did not know that her uncle could get this violent towards her. Everything she had ever collected in her life was being destroyed in front of her. Tears started forming in her eyes. No matter how much she screamed for him to stop, it was no use.

After she screamed "Oswald, stop it!" her uncle turned towards her. Alice immediately flew and held onto his claw. She looked up at her uncle's eyes, and saw that he was eyeing the statue.

He sucked in air through his lungs, a glow forming in his mouth. As he was doing this, Alice kept pulling, and hitting his claw, it did no good.

"Oswald, Nooo!..." she screamed.

Oswald released a laser beam, and blasted the statue. The pieces flying everywhere.

Alice was in a state of shock. It felt as if someone had struck her heart with the shot of a gun. Alice slowly flew to where the statue was, and then she fell on her knees. Hugging herself as the tears started falling down under her hidden face. And she was shaking heavily.

Oswald changed back to his human form, and then looked at her crying figure. Glaring at her with his cold, hard eyes with hatred and anger.

As he started to walk away, still keeping his eyes on her, the back of his head was pounding hard. Saying that he had made the most horrible decision he will regret for the rest of his life. Oswald refused to listen.

Giving his niece one last glare, he walked out of the room. Leaving her to her pity.

Raven and Gilbert watched the king leave the room. Raven walked up to Alice, kneeling to her height.

"B-Rabbit, I didn't mean…" he said, reaching out to her. When Alice felt his touch, she jerked her shoulder away from him.

"Leave me alone." She whispered sharply, breathing heavily.

Raven flinched at her words; the only thing he could think now was to listen to her wishes. He stood up, looking at her one last time with guilt, and then walked away.

Gilbert was crying as he watched his best friend in pain. Like Raven, he followed after him.

Alice continued crying, she cried a river of sorrow. With ragged currents flowing down her cheeks onto the wilted collar of her shirt.

Unknown to her, she was being watched, again. By none other than Cheshire and Vincent in the shadows.

Both of them were in their own hiding spots. They looked at each other, and then gave each other a curt nod, while smiling evilly. Cheshire moved a little out of the shadow, and then started grooming his paw.

"You poor child. You poor innocent child." He said.

Alice looked up, the mourning and shivering had ceased. "Huh?"

"Oh yes, it is a disgrace. All she ever wanted was to become a real mortal, and join the humans." Alice saw a young blond kid coming out of the shadows on her left.

"And, to meet the prince boy again." The other man, who was half human half feline, showed himself by coming out of the shadows too.

"Yes, but they won't let her. If only there was some miracle for her." The little boy agreed.

"Oh? But there is a miracle." The human/cat said. Alice sniffed and wiped away a few tears.

"What…what do you want from me?" she asked.

"Don't be so suspicious, child. We're valets of a maiden who can grant your wishes." The man said, moving closer to her. This sudden action made Alice stand up, and back away a little.

"A maiden who can turn your dreams into reality." The little boy said, circling Alice while flying.

"Just think…" the man paused. The little boy stopped circling her, and hovered next to the man.

"You and the prince…" he said.

"Living, the same blood…." They said together, they then chuckled. Alice gave them a confused look.

"What are you saying?" she questioned them.

"Charlotte, is the answer to all your troubles…" the little boy said. Alice paused.

"The witch of the Abyss?..." she said, "That's – crazy…I mean, perhaps…" she pondered.

"No! Get out of here you creeps! Let me be alone!" she cried, dropping herself to the floor, in a child pose, with her hands holding each side of her head.

"As you wish, princess." The man said. Both boys started to walk to the entrance.

"We were just offering the request." The little boy said.

He then jumps on top of a wooden plank, which had the rabbit doll on the other end. The force then sends the doll towards Alice, and hits her side. The sudden action got her attention, and she stood up on her knees.

Looking at the doll, she held it up, the lifeless scarlet eyes meeting her sad amethyst ones. She took a moment to think.

Those two strangers offering her to go see the witch, and ask for a human soul? That sounded like a dirty trick to her. How does she even know that that witch is probably going to murder her?

But then Alice thought of her Uncles actions. Knowing that he would forbid her from what she was after. She might as well just run away from home.

"Wait." She called. Both men stopped in their tracks.

"Yes?..." they said together, looking at her.

"I…" she paused, "I'll do it." She finished.

…

Outside of the tower, Raven and Gilbert were minding their own business, still feeling sad.

"Poor Alice…" Gilbert sniffed, wiping away a tear.

"I know I'm guilty, but it was an accident." Raven said, holding his head as he held his half lilt cigarette.

Both boys then felt Alice's presence. They looked at the entrance, and saw Alice coming out with two strangers. Both boys got very curious.

As Alice and the men flew off, Raven and Gilbert followed after them.

"B-Rabbit, what are you doing? Princess, where are you going with these two strangers?" Raven asked, flying in front of her and holding her by the shoulders. Alice frowned.

"What's it look like? I'm running away, and seeing the witch for help." She said, breaking his hold on her, and catching up to the men. Raven froze.

"B-Rabbit, no! Don't do this! It's a trick! She's-!"

"What are you trying to be? My uncle? Stay out of my way seaweed-head." Alice said sharply, cutting him off.

Raven had caught up to her and grabbed her arm, but she yanked it away. He paused at her words.

"I'm-I didn't mean…" he pondered. Gilbert caught up to him.

"Come on." Raven said. They then followed after Alice.

…

An hour later. Alice and the two men finally arrive at the witch's lair.

The place was something Alice had never seen before; it was probably more fascinating then Break's home. First off, the entrance was a giant monster like face with its teeth sticking out, and it was made of rock. Second, after the entrance, there was a narrow building. Lastly, after that, there's a humongous gypsy caravan. And the whole outside of the structure was black, with different shades of purple. It had chains all wrapped around the place. It looked abstract and something man made.

As they start entering the lair, Alice stops in her tracks. Having second thoughts about this.

"Come, princess." The man said.

"Mustn't keep our maiden waiting." The little boy said.

Alice gulped a little before finally having the courage to face this. She followed the men into the entrance. She then followed them through the hallway, flying.

As Alice is passing, she encounters a dungeon full of ghosts. Ghosts that looked like her people. Dressed in everyday clothes. But they looked very weak. Pale as a ghost, hair snow white, eyes where the sclera's were black while the iris was red, and the only sounds they were making were moans, groans, breathing, and low cries. It all made her very anxious.

She continued passing them, even though they were watching her.

Suddenly, one of the ghosts grabbed hold of Alice's boot, making her gasp.

"Hey! Let go of me!" she cried, struggling to break free.

Two more ghosts grab onto her boot, and started lowering her. Then two more grabbed hold of her hair.

"Don't touch me, damnit!" she screamed, holding her hair.

More and more souls continued to drag her down, till she was trapped under there hold.

"Get off of me you bastards!" she cried, struggling.

Just then, there was a pink glow in their necks that made them moan in pain. This sudden action made them loosen their hold a little on Alice.

In one swift motion, Alice kicked the ghost close to her foot. Then she struggled to break the hold on her arms. Her right arm broke free, earning the other ghost a punch in the face. Alice then immediately flew away from the ghosts.

Alice stopped in a safe zone, breathing heavily.

"Cheshire, Vincent, where have you been you scoundrels…" A female voice asked.

Alice looked at the entrance the voice came from. She flew to the entrance, and opened the curtain to the large room.

It was decorated with all kinds of gypsy stuff like artifacts, furniture, etc. It was even more amazing on the inside, Alice thought.

"Oh, I see you brought company." The female voice said. The voice came from the gypsy canopy bed.

"Come in, come on in little lady. Don't be suspicious when entering." The female in the shadows said, gesturing her finger.

Alice obeyed and flew towards the bed.

"It's inappropriate for a lady to lurk at the doorway. You're nurture will be questioned." She said, running her fingers through the little boy, named Vincent, hair. And also rubbing Cheshire on the back.

The witch, whose name is Charlotte, was a young attractive woman. Who was probably in her early twenties. She was 5'5"ft, and had long messy mid length peach pink hair that fell over her shoulders. Two strands of hair parted at her forehead that framed her face. She had pink eyes. Her outfit consists of a low-cut dark red corset with frilled pink trim, paired with a black and pink ruffled skirt. She also wore a pair of fishnet stockings with suspenders. Red high heels that had a rose in the front. Over all this, she wore a blood red cloak, where the draw strings are pink and end in pink pom-poms. She has also decorated the hem of her cloak with light pink bows and ribbons. A shirt collar choker around her neck. Her wrists and ankles had been shackled with broken cuffs. In her hair, were two big roses with a vine tied in a bow. She had a slightly deranged appearance, because of the wildness in her eyes.

"Tell me. Tell me child." she said, "Is this how they're dressed at the palace today?" she concluded, taking each side of Alice's hair, and tossing it rudely in the air. Annoyed, Alice smoothed her hair.

"Really, I don't have a clue." Charlotte said, climbing out of her canopy bed.

"For I have been put to exile, forever, by none other than your handsome uncle, Oswald Baskerville." She said, holding Alice's chin with her index finger, she then pinched her cheek, wiggling it, while she grinned evilly.

"Turning me into a single young adult and now will forever live in this pitiful old caravan." She said, while letting go of the brunette's cheek, and walking somewhere random. Stopping to hug herself.

Alice rubbed her cheek, in pain and annoyance.

"Why the reason?" the witch asked, "Because I was a little malicious?" she said, pretending to sound emotional. Her valet's did the same thing by making sad faces.

"Because I got carried away with seeking my attempts just to elevate my station in life?" she said, fainting as one of her valet's held her.

"You tried to overthrow my uncle, by being maliciously sadistic towards him." Alice pointed out. Charlotte laughed.

"The man must have been shocked by my vivacious character." She explained. Cheshire then raised her up on her feet.

"At any rate, of course." she said, "I'm not the person I once was. I've changed. I only do good these days." She said, rocking her hips a little while walking to the makeup dresser.

"Look, the reason I'm here is-"

"Because you have this desire to see this human prince. This Oz boy?" Charlotte said, cutting of Alice, as she sat down in her chair and brushed her hair.

"Yes. How did you know?" Alice asked.

"I'm a fortune-teller. I hear all, see all, and know all." the witch answered, "And I don't blame you on this thing you have for him. The boy is a dreamboat, yes?" she said, giggling. Alice was perplexed by what she said.

"Well doll face…" the witch said, picking up a perfume bottle.

"The answer is simple…" she finished, spraying the single floral fragrance on her. She breathes in the smell, and then made a purring sound.

"If you want to see Oz boy in the human world, again. The first thing is to accomplish your wish to be a pure blooded human." She concluded. Alice made a low gasp at her words.

"Charlotte…can you do that?" she asked.

The ruby eyed woman then made an 'Hmmm?...' smile across her face.

"Please, dearie, call me Lottie." she corrected, "And yes. It's what I do." She said, turning around and looking at the long haired brunette.

"It's something I cherish the most." She said, flying up to Alice.

"To help the unfortunate chain-citizens, just like you, yes?" she said.

"Those poor souls that have no one to turn to." She concluded, circling Alice as she flew higher in the air.

'_I'll confess that in the past I've been a demon. _

_They sure weren't joking when they called me, yes, a wicked.'_

Lottie sang, her cloak twirling with the rhythm of her body.

'_But you'll see the nowadays. _

_I've changed all my ways._

_Yes, it seems that I have been gifted.' _

She sang, ballet dancing. She then flew down to Alice.

'_Mustn't tell, it's a secret.' _

She sang, putting a finger to her lips. Alice gave her a confused look.

'_And of course I've known a bit about magic.' _

She sang, flying to her cauldron.

'_It's a hobby that I know I possess.'_

She sang, as she opened the cauldron.

'_And young lady, please do not laugh.' _

She sang, giving her the no, no finger.

'_I've used it on behalf. _

_On the people in pain, and depressed.' _

She sang, as she created an illusion in the caldron, of a sad boy and girl.

"Touching…" she whispered to her valet's. Both boys snickered.

'_Poor unfortunate souls. _

_Heartbroken, misled.' _

She sang, circling the caldron.

'_This one wanting to be beautiful.' _

She sang, pointing to the unsightly girl illusion.

'_The other wants to will the girl.'_

She sang, pointing to the loveless boy illusion.

'_But do I help them?' _

she sang, asking. She then snaps her fingers, which turn the illusions into their request they asked for.

'_Why yes, indeed.'_ She sang.

'_These poor unfortunate souls…'_

She sang, watching as the illusions dance together with joy.

'_So miserable, so blue…' _

She sang. During this, Raven and Gilbert approach at the entrance. They then follow the witch's voice.

'_They come screaming to my lair. _

_Begging "Magic, Lottie, pretty please!" _

_And do I help them you made ask?' _

She sang, sounding dramatic.

'_Oh yes I do.' _

She sang, as she rested her head on her arms, smiling.

'_Now this has happened a couple times or so. _

_Where someone says "I can't pay the price, oh no!" _

_And I'm ashamed that I have to trap them under my control…' _

She sang, in a sadder tone. As she gestured her open hand at the illusions. She then closes her hand, which makes the illusions throats tight, causing them to shriek in pain as they held their necks. They then start to transform into the prisoned ghosts they are.

'_Yes the past I tried to outlive. _

_But on my foes I should forgive.' _

She sang, wrapping a gypsy scarf on top of her head in a hooded style.

'_To all those poor unfortunate souls…' _

She sang. At this point, Raven and Gilbert finally arrive.

"Alright, rabbit girl. Here's the deal." Lottie said, as she wrapped Alice with her scarf.

"You will be given a spell of a full human form for a year." she promised the brunette, "You hear that? One full year, understand?" she stated. The brunette gave a curt nod.

"This is serious, dearie. Listen here." The witch instructed, getting Alice's eyes to focus. She opens the cauldron.

"Before the final sun down sets on the end of the year. You must get Oz boy to return the same feelings you have." She explained, the cauldron making animations of the last sun set, and silhouettes of Alice and the prince.

"Meaning, you both have to kiss each other. But not just any kiss. A special kiss, the embrace of two hearts." She said. The cauldron then made an animation of the silhouettes taking each other's hand, pulling them close to each other. Then, a rose red heart hovers over them. Alice was quite amazed by this.

Ok, Alice thought. She understood that she only has a year to be a full human. And knows to get the prince to share the same unknown feelings to her. But what Alice didn't know was this; "What the hell was a kiss!?"

"If you two do kiss before the clock strikes one. You will stay as a pure blooded human, for all eternity." Lottie said. The cauldron then made an animation of Alice, running through a meadow.

"Sadly, if all doesn't end well, you turn back into the B-Rabbit. And-"she said.

The next animation was Alice turning into her normal chain form. The witch then jumps on top of the cauldron on her knees, closing it. She meets Alice's eyes, faces being inches apart.

"You belong, to me…" she evilly said, her eyes turning into a deep color. As well as becoming malicious with insanity. Her twisted look made Alice tense.

"No B-Rabbit!-"Raven warned, He was the silenced by Cheshire, pouncing and pinning him to the ground.

"So what do you say, B-Rabbit? How 'bout it?" Lottie asked, turning Alice's attention back. There was a little moment of silence.

"If I do this…" Alice paused, "I can never return to my friends and family…" she finished.

"Oh dear, your terribly right." Lottie said, surprised.

"But Oz boy will be with you, yes?" she asked. The witch then chuckled, "Life has a way with choices, doesn't it?" she teased.

Alice frowned while she made a sad blush on her cheeks.

'_Come on, I know you need a little magic. _

_And magic is my specialty du jour.'_

Lottie sang, being a magician and handing Alice a hand full of flowers. The flowers then turned into creepy crawlers. Alice drops them in disgust. A centipede then crawled up her arm.

'_Don't just stand there looking sick. _

_Would I kid you play a trick. _

_Like I told you, I don't do that anymore…' _

Lottie sang, taking the centipede and making it disappear.

'_So I think you ought to take my little bargain.' _

She sang, as she used one of her spells, puppet string, to control Alice's body. Alice was stunned, and tried to struggle as Lottie pulled her by the control bar.

'_Yes, I think you ought to make my little deal.' _

She sang, controlling Alice to dance.

'_Sure it's hard to leave your life. But you can be a prince's wife.' _

She sang, as she twirled the brunette. Then pulled her close till her violet eyes met her twisted ones.

'_Why don't you let me take that dream and make it real.' _

She sang, letting go of Alice by spinning her. The witch then laughed.

"Oh dearie, I almost forgot. Before I give you my word, you must exchange this promise for something." she explained, "You can't get away without paying." She said.

"Well I hate to disappoint you, but I don't have sixty bu-"

"What? Money? Oh, ha, ha! No, no, young lady. You don't pay with money; it has to be something that belongs to you." The witch explained. Alice raised an eyebrow.

"Something that belongs to me?" she asked.

"Yes, and what it is that I want from you is…" Lottie said, grabbing Alice by the chin. This made Alice a little tense.

"Your voice…" she clearly said, sharply.

"My voice? Why?" Alice asked, touching her throat.

"Because, darling. It's the most expensive thing from you. And I feel you should take a break from that big mouth of yours." Lottie said, resting her face on her palm.

"Then how can I get through the prince if I can't-"

"You've got the looks, a beautiful face." The witch said, cutting her off.

"And let's not forget the most important thing on us women is our body language, ha, ha!" she said, posing and moving her body back and forth.

'_The men in that world hate never ending chatter. _

_They like to think a girl's talkative behavior should be ignored!' _

She sang, flying up to one of the shelves with magic potion bottles.

'_Yet the maiden's think "I can win a man by telling him what I think." _

_And well darling, what can't our hearts adore?' _

She sang, reading through each potion.

'_Come on now, they're not interested in what women think. _

_Even though they pretend that they are blabbermouths.' _

She sang, throwing each bottle she needed behind her. The potions then flew steadily to the cauldron, spilling their magic in it. Alice observed their little show.

'_But what can make them be fond. _

_Is a lady who can't respond. _

_So I think you ought to be silent, and stop being a loudmouth.'_

She sang, flying down to the cauldron. Throwing in a bottle of some kind of powder, which made an explosion_._

'_Come on now you poor unfortunate soul.' _

She sang, the potion in the cauldron rising up.

'_Poor child! _

_In pain!' _

She sang, popping out behind Alice on each side.

'_Aren't you glad you brought your problem to a lady you can trust._

_Won't you let me grant your wish.' _

She sang. An illusion of Alice and the prince are then seen in the smoke. The animation draws Alice's eyes near it.

'_Ah little chain!' _

Lottie sang, popping her face out through the illusion, cutting it off. Alice jumps at the sudden action.

'_You sad poor unfortunate soul. _

_That's the price, that's the deal.' _

She sang, adding more ingredients in the potion, while circulating the smoke.

'_If you want to go through with this, dearie. You got to make the choice.' _

She sang, going up to Alice and showing her the contract scroll.

'_Go on, take a stand, make a choice. _

_All I get is your powers and your voice.' _

She sang, handing Alice a big sewing needle. Telling her she has to sign her name with her own blood.

"Cheshire, Vincent, I have her now boys." She whispered to her valet's.

'_This witch is on a roll…'_

She sang, spinning high in the air.

'_To this poor unfortunate soul…'_

She sang. As Alice finally made her decision. Taking off her glove. Taking the needle, and pricking her finger.

Till enough of her scarlet liquid oozed out, Alice wrote her name on the paper. After her name was printed, the scroll rolled in a swift move and the contract flew till it landed in Lottie's hand. It disappeared in a flash.

The witch then grinned evilly. She then began to chant in the cauldron.

'_I call upon. Of the spirits of the Abyss portal.' _

She said, the apparition smoke coming out of the cauldron and circling around both the witch and Alice. Alice was stunned as she looked all around her.

'_This little chain has made her choice. _

_Now take away her voice. _

_And then transform her into a mortal.' _

The witch made her last chant. With those words, pink giant apparition hands came out of the cauldron.

"Now…sing!" the witch commanded, making an insane look across her face.

Alice obeyed and started singing the unrecognized tune of her native tongue.

"Keep singing!" Lottie exclaimed. She then controls the hands to move towards Alice.

They stop as Alice moves back a little in fright. The hands then move inside her, Alice tried not to cough.

The hands felt like cold winds the way they raced down to her throat, but it felt like Alice forgot how to breathe. Then the hands reversed themselves, as they managed to rip out her 'voice'.

What looked like her voice, came out of her in this stream mist. It then formed into an apparition, which looked identical to her! Except it wore some kind of white dress, that reached to its knees. It also wore flat shoes. And its eyes were covered by its bangs. The apparition had its hands clasped to its chest as it sang the same tune she was singing.

Alice covered her mouth with both her hands as she was shocked to see her voice being taking away.

Her voice then was sucked into a potion necklace by Lottie. The witch grins at having the B-Rabbits voice sealed under her control.

She then laughs evilly, as the cauldron sends out a purple pink stream of light.

It went in a non-straight path, as it headed towards Alice. It went inside, hitting her throat.

Before Alice coughed, the cauldron sends out another steam of light, circling Alice in an orb shape. It spun like a twister as it lifted her in the air.

Lottie, Raven, and Gilbert watched as the ball of color wind transformed Alice into her B-Rabbit form.

The next thing you know, Alice is then being zapped by shocking electricity/lightning. The streams of energy tormented her, making her move all around like an infant in a womb.

Both the lightning and winds tore off most of her clothing. Even her boots! The pieces swam all around in the orb.

During this, Alice's form is slowly but suddenly fading back to her human self.

Once every detail of her chain form was gone, the last zap of electricity puts on the finishing touches.

The orb vanishes in a split second, and Alice falls 18 feet above the ground. Splashing into the water.

Alice then starts wiggling like a worm on the ground. As she could not breathe. Holding onto her neck for dear life, as there was a glowing pink spot in her throat. Screaming without a voice.

Raven and Gilbert hurry over to her. The raven haired man scoops Alice in his arms, as she continued to struggle.

During this, Lottie opens up a Tran's portal leading to the human world.

The three chain-people flee up to the portal with swiftness, with the witch laughing evilly.

As fast as they went, Alice struggled for air in Ravens arms.

The other side of the portal was near. Raven could see that the other end was under water.

Thinking rapidly, Raven thought Alice should be the first to jump out of the water.

He positioned Alice by holding her by the middle of her torso. While still speeding, he lowered her to his knees, and then threw her up with all his might, like a bullet.

Alice flew up with such force through the water. She manages to break through the surface, her long damp hair flipped in the frosted atmosphere. Alice inhaled all the oxygen, finally able to breathe again, as the unknown blaze in her throat disappeared.

Gravity dragged her body back in the freezing aqua. Raven and Gilbert came to Alice's aid, wrapping her arms over their necks, and keeping her afloat.

They swam as they guided the brunette to the edges of the lake. It was dawn, when they came to shore…

**…**

**Yay! Alice is finally a pure blooded human! Now we must wait to see if she'll stay that way forever, along with Oz. Ok, before anyone comments. I KNOW Lottie's hair is pink. But I just like to imagine her as a redhead, with pink tints. Like in episode 18 of the anime, where it was that color when she was down in the lower parts of the academy. A person can dream can't they? **

**And about the lyrics where she says:**

**Come on, I know you need a little magic **

**And magic is my specialty du jour**

**Don't just stand there looking sick**

**Would I kid you, play a trick**

**Like I told you, I don't do that anymore **

**So I think you ought to take my little bargain**

**Yes, I think you ought to make my little deal**

**Sure it's hard to leave your life, but you could be a prince's wife**

**Why don't you let me take that dream and make it real.**

**Ok, I didn't write that to be honest. It was a deleted part of the Poor Unfortunate Souls song. And I just thought that it would fit with Lottie. The lyrics can be seen in The Little Mermaid (Platinum Edition) Deleted Scene: "Poor Unfortunate Souls on YouTube. And on alternate lyrics. So, I hope that isn't a copyrighted issue, if I told the truth that is ^^; **

**Alright, let's see how Alice's first day as a human, and finally meeting Oz in person goes. So, keep an eye out for chapter 7! **


	7. The Voice Less Chain

**Retrace VII becomes the latest! : Not to be confused with Pandora Hearts Retrace VII: "Reunion": **

**So, anyway, this chapter took me 6 days to write, I think. This chapter has a little more words than chapter 5, which means this chapter will probably feel short, sorry T_T: Sniff: **

**I've kind of had a couple of writers block in this chapter, which is why it took me 6 days to complete. **

**Well, enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pandora Hearts, or The Little Mermaid story, they all belong to their rightful owners.**

**…**

**The Little Chain: Chapter 7**** The Voice Less Chain**

The time of day was 9:00. The sky was blue, the air was crisp, and the sun shone gloriously on the earth. It was a brilliant Saturday. Not far from the mansion, a familiar blonde and his sister were hanging around at the lake, with their border collie named Bandersnatch.

Oz was leaning against a tree, listening to the music of the watch, as Lilly and Bandersnatch danced around with joy and laughter.

Oz was wearing a forest green waist coat, where the cuffs were a medium cream color with a dark green line going around them. It also had a white line going down the edges near the buttons, and around the edges of the coat. Under the coat, he wore a white dress shirt, and a red vest. Dark cream shorts, brown boots, black knee high socks, and a dark red necktie with a gold button in the center, that was sticking out of his coat.

Even though it was a beautiful day, it didn't get the blondes' attention. All that was on Oz's mind was the mystery girl. Oz closed the pocket watch, and started pacing.

"That image…" he said, "It hasn't left my mind for a month." He finished, scratching his head. Lilly and Bandersnatch were concerned about the prince.

They both looked at each other, and then walked up to Oz's side. Lilly held her brother by the hand; Oz looked down at his little sister. She responded to him by making an 'Hmm' noise, Oz bent down to her.

"Oh, Lilly, I'm sorry I've been acting like this. I've looked everywhere for her. Where in the world can she be?" he asked, petting his sister on the head.

…

Just on the other side of the lake, our three characters Alice, Raven, and Gilbert; were washed up on the edges by a couple of rocks. All were exhausted, mostly the boys.

Alice rested her head, and arms, on one of the rocks. Raven slipped off his black coat, and draped it over the brunette. He then seated himself on a rock, and held his forehead.

When she had enough energy, Alice raised her head, her damp bangs hiding half of her face. She then moved her position to sit straight and let her back rest on the rock.

'Jeez, to think the witch could have made the transformation less painful' Alice said to herself, brushing her bangs to the side. She then remembered that she was human.

'That's right! I'm a human now!' she exclaimed in her mind. Alice studied herself, looking at every part of her body.

'Huh…? What the hell!? I thought that witch turned me into a human girl!?' she yelled in her thoughts.

This all confused Alice, she did not look or feel any different. Other than being almost naked, but that wasn't the point.

She huffed out a sigh, crossing her arms before leaning back against the rock. Frowning at the thought of being ripped off by a dirty woman. Alice let her eyes wonder around, taking in the new scenery.

She jumped a little when her eyes landed in the water. What surprised Alice, was her reflection. Her B-Rabbit form was nowhere to be found. The only thing that was in its place was her other self, her human form.

Alice sat on her knees and studied herself in the reflexed water, the illusion copying her every movement. She smiled upon knowing that her wish had been granted.

"Well, well, the adventurous rabbit returns to the human world!" A distant voice yelled out.

Everyone turned their attention to the voice's direction. Sure enough, they saw Break. Flying with an umbrella in the air. He landed safely on the grass, and walked to Alice's side. Break then gave her a curios look.

"I don't know why, but there's something different about you, Alice." He said, rubbing his chin. Alice opened her mouth to say something.

"No wait; don't tell me, Alice…" Break hushed her, putting his finger to her lips.

"Let me guess. It's your appearance, am I right? Have you been hanging with your sisters to make yourself look this girly?" he asked, bending down to her.

Alice blinked at him, and then raised her eyebrow while giving him a sly smirk. Break took the hint.

"Hmmm…incorrect, huh? Alright, let me see, um…" he pondered. His next question then popped up.

"New…discoveries?" he asked, giving her a polite smile. Alice responded by smiling pretty at him.

"No discoveries, now how about that." Break pondered, holding his chin.

Alice was getting annoyed by his stupidity, as she rolled her eyes. She then started tapping on the water, trying to show the white haired man the answer. Break chuckled.

"I must confess that I have no clue as to what is so different about Miss Alice." He said, not getting Alice's attention.

Raven glared at the Mad Hatter with annoyance, while Alice was tapping on the water harder.

"Oh, dear, I'm going to be standing here all day, trying to-"

"SHE'S A PURE BLOODED HUMAN, YOU MORON! Look at her reflection!" Raven shouted, cutting him off.

Break finally looked down at the illusion, and was stunned to find only Alice's human side to only be present. Raven continued.

"The stupid rabbit gave up her voice and powers to the witch, just to be a mortal girl. For god's sake, man." He explained, walking to his side.

"My dearest apologies." Break said, putting a hand to his chest. He knew the answer; he just wanted to act like he didn't know just for fun.

"Alice is truly an individual." Gilbert said, standing next to them.

While the men were talking, Alice tries to get up on her feet. Only to find that her legs have become numb and wobbly.

'What's up with my legs? They feel so strange and unsteady.' She wondered, trying to find her balance.

When she thought she found her balance, she stood still. But her legs were still wobbling.

"Alice has got to get the prince to return the same feelings she has for him. And they have to-have to kiss each other. In order for her to stay a human forever." Gilbert explained.

"And the stupid rabbit only has a year." Raven concluded.

Right after his sentence, Alice falls into the water, making a big splash that sends it towards the men. Break, however, blocked the attack by pointing the umbrella at it. He then lowered it, as he looked down at the brunette. Raven growled.

"Just look at her! A human, a pure blooded human being!" he shouted, as Alice raised herself up into a sitting position.

"Oh, Master…!" he muttered, gasping as he thought of the king's reaction to this.

"I'm a dead man. This can't be happening!" he cried. He then turned to Break and Gilbert.

"What will her uncle do if he finds out?! I'll tell you what that man's going to do." He said, holding Break by the shoulders. He then turned to Gilbert.

"He'll say that he's going to shoot the man who let her get away with this, and roast him on the fire, that's what he would say!" he cried, snatching Gilbert by his suit, and bringing him close to his face.

During Raven's panic, Alice was ignoring his complaint. She brushed off whatever was resting on her. She then took notice of a lily pad stuck to her head, and lifted it off with her two fingers, and tossed it in a random direction.

"That's it! I'm not keeping anymore secrets! I'm going to find my way back to the Abyss, and tell my master immediately…" Raven said, walking along the side of the lake.

During this, Alice hearing this, rushed to stop her uncles servant in his tracks; tripping and trying to balance with each step. She then walked backwards, as she was in front of the black haired man, shaking her head.

"And don't you shake your head at me stupid rabbit!" Raven said, walking to the side, making Alice back up against a huge rock and slamming his hand over her. Alice starred at him, while she adjusted the coat on her.

"Maybe there's a way to fix this…" Raven pondered, holding his chin. Alice rolled her eyes.

"Listen here, B-Rabbit. We are going straight back to the Abyss. And we are going to get that witch to give you back your voice and form. And then we are going straight home with all the normal chain-folks, and just live-"

Raven was cut off by Alice. She glared at him with emotion in her eyes, while she had a sad blush upon her face.

"Just live-" he was cut off once again when Alice then looked down from him, now having a sad look. She then drops her head lower till her eyes couldn't be seen. This made Raven feel guilty once again.

"Just live and be trapped in a cage for the rest of your life." He said, in a sad tone. He then holds his forehead, sighing.

Great, now what? He didn't want to be assassinated by his master. But just by looking into the princess eyes, made him also think that he couldn't let her be controlled, depressed, heartbroken, or anything to suffer from forever. If he stayed on his master's side, he'll feel guilty all over again. The back of Ravens head told him that he just knew he was going to regret this.

"Alright, fine. I, Gilbert, and Break will try our hardest to help you get that prince." Raven gave in, sighing.

Alice, filled with joy, gave the Raven haired man a warm hug. Raven groaned.

"Man, a soft feather I'm turning into." He muttered.

"Well, now, since we got that out of the way. Alice, if you want to join human society. The first step is dressing up like a maiden. Now, let's see dear. Hmm, your size." Break said, getting out a sewing measuring tape, and studying Alice's size.

…

Oz, Lily, and Bandersnatch strolled down the side of the lake. The blonde teen was walking normally, while Lily danced in the sunlight.

Bandersnatch was taking in the scent of everything as he walked along the herbs of the earth.

Then, something picked up the dogs attention. A strange scent that the canine did not recognize. He knew it was the smell of a human, but this other smell was mysterious. But the human also had the scent of a good soul.

Bandersnatch then hurried to his owner, alerting to him of what he had discovered.

"Bandersnatch? What? What is it, boy?" Oz asked.

The dog continued barking, as he now ran in the direction of the scent. Lily followed after him.

"Lily?...wait, guys!" Oz called out, chasing them.

…

"Oh, my, my, my Alice! You are now officially a human lady." Break exclaimed, clapping his hands.

Break had recently made a dress for Alice. It wasn't the finest for a female to wear, but Alice liked it enough to wear it. I was a rather tattered dress that was made out of different fabrics from bed sheets, table cloth, old rags, etc. It was designed in a romantic fairy style. Break, knowing it was cold, put his best efforts to take a golden mink fur, and turn it into a warm cape.

Alice stretched her arms out, posing in front of the boys. Raven and Gilbert didn't know what to make of it.

The chain-people then heard the sound of barking coming to their direction. They then could see a dog running in the distance.

"Quick, everyone! Hide yourselves before we're caught!" Raven alerted.

Raven immediately went behind a rock, with Gilbert following after. Break climbed up a tree.

As for Alice, it was already too late for her to hide somewhere. The dog chased after her, like a dog chasing a rabbit. Alice eventually made it to a tree, climbing up like a cat. It wasn't tall, but it was tall enough to the point where the dog could not harm her.

This is ridiculous, Alice thought. Afraid of a mutt trying to sic her? Really now?

Alice then saw a little girl arriving, running down to the dog's barking. She recognized her as the quite kid she saw at the festival, the one that was the sister of the prince!

The girl stopped as she saw Alice in the tree, gasping. The dog jumped high enough to reach Alice, and then lapped at her face. Alice wiped away the drool in disgust.

"Guys…!" A voice called out.

Alice watched as the girl and dog ran in the direction of the voice. A blonde teen then comes into the clearing, looking for the girl and dog.

Alice felt her heart flutter. It was the same exact human whose life she had saved!

"Lily! Bandersnatch! Where are you!?" he called out.

The dog, named Bandersnatch, barked out to the blonde as Lily caught up to her brother, tugging at his sleeve.

"Lily, don't scare me like that." He said, putting a hand on her head.

Bandersnatch barked at the blonde, trying to tell him what he and Lily had found.

"Quiet, Bandersnatch!" he told the dog. Both Lily and Bandersnatch continued trying to show the blonde.

"Come on you guys. What's making you both act like this?" he asked.

The blonde then found the answer when he looked up and saw Alice in the tree.

"Oh… Well no wonder why." He said.

Bandersnatch ran up to the tree and barked to the blonde. Lily nodded to him.

Alice immediately spit into her hands, and started grooming her hair as the prince walked up to her.

'Why am I doing this?' she asked herself.

"Are you alright, Miss?" Oz asked, "Heh, sorry if these two scared you. But they're no threat, really-"

The prince had been cut off when he looked back at Alice, after ruffling through his sister and dog's hair.

Alice had bent down to the blonde till they were at wings length.

The teen boy looked at her. Her face looked like he's seen it somewhere before, but where? Her eyes were the most that were familiar, but what? The girl looked at him curiously, and then made a small smile.

"You…look like I've seen you somewhere. Have we…met?" he asked. The brunette blinked at him, and then shrugged. The dog barked in disagreement.

"But, I think we have met.", he said, holding her hand, "You must be her, the girl I've been looking for!" he exclaimed.

Alice tried her best to look like she did not know. Making a 'what the hell? Are you crazy or something?' face. The prince blinked at this.

"Where are my manners? Sorry, my name is Oz. This is my sister Lily. And our dog Bandersnatch." He said, pointing to the little blond and canine.

"Can I have your name, miss?" he asked. Ok, this was something Alice won't hide from him.

'I'm Alice…' she mouths without words.

Alice was stunned; she had completely forgotten that her voice was the price she had paid. She put a hand to the spot where her voice was, as she drops her head.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Oz asked, concerned. Alice pointed to her neck.

"You can't speak?" he asked. Alice shook her head in disappointment.

"Oh. Oh, then you couldn't be her." Oz said, sadly. Lily and Bandersnatch looked at Oz, and then turned to the brunette. Alice sighed in frustration.

'Well, that spoiled his cheery mood.' She said to herself.

What now? She didn't want to tell him just yet. Well, the least she can do was try to tell him her name. But how? She then thought of using pantomime.

Tapping on the blonds shoulder, she began to spell out her name with her hands.

"What are you trying to tell me? You're lost?" he asked. Alice shook her head.

"No, no…you need shelter." Oz said, trying to get the brunettes message.

Alice was now annoyed and frustrated by the prince's stupidity. She immediately went to hit him across the face.

Only to miss the target, causing her to slip off the branch. Oz immediately caught her, and they both landed safely on the ground.

"Hey, hey, calm down. Calm down, take it easy." He said.

Alice opened her eyes, and looked at the blonde. His emerald eyes looking into her violet ones. There was a long pause.

'She looks innocent…' Oz thought.

"You must have really been through a lot to come where you are right now." He said. Alice looked away.

'You got that right pretty boy.' She said to herself agreeing.

"Hey, it's alright. Come with me to the mansion. I and everyone will take care of you." Oz said. He then lifted her up bridle style, and began walking.

"Come on guys." He said. Lily and Bandersnatch followed after him.

Alice looked back behind the blondes shoulder, seeing her friends peeking out of their hiding spots. Raven gestured his arms forward, telling her to go on without them.

She gave them a curt nod, and watched as the prince lead her to his home.

…

"Dearie, stop squirming." The woman told the brunette, as she began to scrub her head.

When the prince returned to the Vessalius mansion, he introduced the voice less brunette to his manservant.

Whom which Alice recognized as the man who presented the statue of Oz for his birthday.

There then was a long conversation on what to do about her, an unfamiliar middle aged woman came and joined the chat.

It was their final agreement to let her stay as long as she can. One of them then remembered that dinner would be served soon.

The man, named Reim, asked the woman, named Kate, is she could bathe Alice and prepare her for dinner.

And so here we are with Alice, in a bathtub, with Mrs. Kate doing all the work.

It was really ridiculous how the old hag saw her as a three year old who couldn't take care of herself. If you ask Alice, the woman was the one being childish, not her.

Another thing was that Alice really didn't enjoy baths that much to be honest. Alice mostly liked to be dirty like a boy, due to her being a tomboy. Sometimes she thought; why clean yourself if you're just going to get dirty again? But in the end, the brunette just learned to live with it.

Alice would not listen to the woman whenever she fidgeted, squirmed, and fussed.

After her body had been entirely spotless from any dirt, oil, etc. The woman then poured a liquid fragrance on top of her head. As the woman was scratching her scalp, Alice gave up and just sat there fuming.

'How demeaning, I can take care of myself you know.' She stated in her mind.

"Now don't give me that look, young lady. The master's manservant put me in charge of you to get ready for supper. And don't pester, you're almost done." Mrs. Kate said, this time calmer than before. Alice turned her eyes to the side in annoyance

'Whatever, you better be.' She said to herself coldly.

…

"Oh, master Oz, please do be fair." Reim said, adjusting his glasses, "Fine teenage girls just don't-run around-rescuing people whenever a disaster occurs. And then-Vanish-off into the world, when-"

"She was REAL, Reim! I know she was." Oz protested, cutting Reim off.

"I'm going to find her one day…" he said,"…And we're going to be together…" he finished, looking out the window.

Oz and Reim were in the dining room, waiting for Alice and Kate to return. They were both arguing about the mystery girl that saved his life. No one believed in the blondes' story, but that didn't stop Oz from believing it.

"Come on now child. You look lovely." A voice said.

Footsteps could be heard down the hallway. Three figures were at the doorway to the dining room. One of them was dragging another's hand.

"Go on." The voice of Mrs. Kate said.

The figure she dragged walked into the room, along with the small figure. Once the light illuminated on the figures, they revealed themselves as Alice and Lily.

Lily was wearing a cute formal pink dress.

Alice, on the other hand, was wearing a frilly purple dress. She also had on a purple frilly headband, and matching arm warmers. Although, Alice's expression didn't match her features.

The fuming brunette walked up to Oz, while Lily went to sit at the dining table.

"Oh, Oz. Isn't she just dashing?" Reim said, impressed.

Alice looked at the blonde, arms crossed while she had the look of 'Well?' pasted on her face. Oz blinked at this.

"You…you look gorgeous." He complimented, speechless.

Alice's mood changed ever so suddenly. She looked at him with this surprised look, and she then drifted her eyes down while a ting of pink stained her cheeks. Her heart took in his compliment. Her sudden change of mood took Oz by surprise.

"Well then, now let's go to dinner, people." Reim said cheerfully, already heading to the table. Oz and Alice walked towards the table.

Before Alice was able to pull the chair out, Oz stopped her. "Allow me." He said.

Oz pulled the chair out. Alice seated herself comfortably, and Oz pushed the chair back in.

"Just being a gentleman." He said cheerfully. Alice's only response was giving him an annoyed look.

Alice turned her attention to the table; she saw that it was loaded with about 20 different dishes. What made her mouth watered the most, was the six different varieties of meat. Which were mutton, chicken, pork, beef, fish, and some unknown meat that was roasted with potatoes, carrots, and onions?

"Isn't it nice for once to have a lovely dinner guest at the table, eh everyone?" Reim commented.

Alice didn't pay any mind to everyone, as she started digging in the food before anyone said their prayers.

The first dish she started with was the cooked beef, cutting a slice of it off. Fisting the fork in her hand, she stabbed the flesh, and ripped half of it with her teeth.

She then ripped off a chicken leg, and started chewing the remains off of the animal. She then started devouring some of the pork.

After the meat, she took a bite of a baked bread, shoved in a mouthful of cornbread, poured and drank a bowl of clam chowder, and tasted every shape of dessert off a tray. Such as cakes, hot pudding, and fruit pies.

Just to let you know, Alice has a huge appetite and especially has a deep love for meat.

While she chewed on the last dessert, she found that everyone at the table was giving her dumbfounded looks.

Alice then realized that these kinds of people don't eat like barbarians at a dinner table.

Embarrassed at what she did, Alice sat back down in her chair. She picked up her glass of flavored water, and chugged half of it down. She made a little burp noise after that. Everyone, but Alice, looked at each other, and started blurting out laughter.

"Oh, my!" Mrs. Kate chuckled.

"You must have been very famished, miss." Oz chuckled, trying to hold in laughter. Alice frowned at the blondes' words while her cheeks were red in embarrassment.

"Why, master Oz, I've haven't seen you smile like that in a month." Kate pointed out. Oz paused at Kate's words.

Had he really not acted like this for a month?

30 minutes, or so later, everyone was eating at the table calmly and chatting about random things. This time, Alice tried to lower her eating actions.

'It's not my fault I had been born rude.' She said in her head, coldly.

"You know Oz, since our new mistress is staying with us. You could, perchance, show her the unfamiliar places of the city. And introduce her to your friends." Reim said, cleaning his glasses. Oz turned to him.

"You mean, a date?" he asked.

"No, not a date. A tour, young master." Reim said, putting on his glasses.

"But why me? How come you or Mrs. Kate can't do that?" Oz inquired. Reim sighed.

"Listen, Oz, you've been moping about a whole month. You need to get out and have some fresh air. And you haven't been hanging around with your friends that much either." He explained. Oz took a moment to think.

"I guess your right Reim. And now that I think about it. It's not a bad idea. If she thinks she's ready." He said. He turned to the brunette.

"Well whaddaya say, mistress? Would you like to see my world tomorrow?" he asked, smiling. Alice blinked for a moment, and then nodded whiling smiling.

"It's been decided then, welcome to the Vessalius residence mistress." Reim beamed.

…

The sun had completed its tour for the day. The sun's rays had long since disappeared over the horizon to be replaced by thousands of countless stars, which dotted the inky canopy. It was a cool, windy, night; the swaying of trees and rustling of leaves could be heard but not seen.

Alice watched the night time's dramatic play while she was perched on the balcony to her room.

'I'm finally able to live in the story book I've always dream of. But there is still so much more in this world I have not learned yet.' She thought.

This was Alice's definition of ordinary, a world of people with no special or distinctive features, having and living a normal life. She wouldn't change this moment for the world. It would probably take a long time for Alice to catch up on everything. But she hoped that it wouldn't take a full year to learn.

Alice got bored of the night time, and decided to call it for tonight. Walking back into the room, she closed the door calmly.

"This has been, no doubt about, the most embarrassing nightmare I ever had to go though in my life." Raven fumed sharply.

Alice had allowed her uncle's servant to sleep in her room for the entire time they were here. Break and Gilbert were also welcomed too, but decided not to, which of course, was optional.

Alice was changing out of her stupid frilly dress, leaving her in nothing but her underwear. Which is a separate pair of pale pink pantalets and camisole.

"How did I ever end up getting stuck in a difficult situation? And why of all people did it have to be you?" Raven asked.

Making her way to the bed, Alice ruffled through the man's untidily styled locks. Not responding to his question. Raven frowned.

"Fine. But I hope that you appreciate what I have to go through for you, stupid rabbit." He said.

Alice turned the little wheel on the oil lamp; diming the light till there was no flame to be found. She then hopped onto the bed, her legs sinking into the mattress.

The comforter on the bed was so fluffy and soft, it felt like you were on top of a cloud. She settled herself down into the pillows, while she heard Raven mutter something.

"Let's just all hope that you get your man, before the time ends. Otherwise, it would feel like we came here for nothing, and wasted our lives." He whispered to himself. Alice frowned in annoyance.

'Shut up, seaweed-head. You know nothing of my situation.' She responded in her mind, sharply.

She felt as if that wasn't what he intended to say, but let it go. Alice thought of how she was going to get through the whole year, trying to win whatever the feelings the prince had for her. If only she knew what those feelings were, then it would be easier for her to get Oz to return them to her. She was a least relieved to have a full year to try.

Alice then thought of the blondes friends, mentioned by Reim.

'Were they the search party that found him on the island?' she asked herself.

She couldn't remember what they looked like, due to being too far away from them.

'Well, I just hope that they're not any different from where I come from.' She thought.

She hoped that they weren't cold hearted jerks, but if they were Oz's friends, maybe they were just like him; if they were his friends, they were her friends.

Feeling her consciousness ebbing away, and then all her thoughts ended when she fell completely asleep. Dreaming of how the next day will go…

**…**

**Ok, I'm going to be honest with you guys that it felt like this chapter wasn't all that much. Meaning that it felt like there wasn't enough creative writing, and feeling. But that's just me people, you can object on my opinion :) **

**Also, here's the news, it looks like I'm getting to the middle of the story. And here's the problem, I believe that once a person gets to the middle of a story, they start to have writers block D8) Oh No's! So it looks like I may need people's idea's to help guide me. **

**So please, think of any ideas that you want to happen in the story, and I'll see what I can do. This may be important to people who all like and follow the story. Don't get me wrong I did think up a few ideas' to go with the story, but that's it! **

**Anyways, let's see if Alice can beat the clock. So, keep reading!**


	8. Day Two In The New World

**Chapter 8 is here, and late! ^^; Sorry it took some time to get it up and ready, it took me 6 days just to write 8 pages -_- And it was all thanks to writers block )X **

**Well, I'm just glad that I was able to write a chapter 8 for this story. Also guys, if this chapter felt cheesy, uncreative, or something, forgive me, writers block is the one to blame. Well, that's just how I felt about this chapter…**

**Ok, enough talk, onto the story!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pandora Hearts, or The Little Mermaid story, they all belong to their rightful owners.**

**…**

**The Little Chain: Chapter 8**** Day two in The New World**

The sun rose in the blue arena of air above, noting that day two had begun. It was 8:30 in the morning. Everyone had woken up at seven to the sunlight shining in through their bedroom window, while the birds were chirping their sweet unknown tune outside. They then went down to have breakfast before preparing themselves for the day. Oz was in his room, standing in front of the mirror as he adjusted his tie.

Oz was wearing a white dress shirt under a fancy dark gray vest where the edges of the collar had a gold line going down, and which also had gold buttons. Green knee-length plaid pants. He put on a pair of brown boots, which had an interesting design to them, and to finish it off, a red tie.

Today was the day that Oz would be taking the voiceless teenage girl around the city. Well, that was the plan. Oz had written a letter to all his friends, saying that he would like to get everyone together to meet at the entrance of the city. He also said that he wanted to introduce a new addition to the group. He and the mistress would be traveling to the other side of the city in order to start their tour of his world.

After Oz put on the finishing touches and straightened his vest, he was ready for the public.

**CRASH**

Oz flinched when he heard something fragile break on the floor. The noise was then followed by Mrs. Kate's voice coming down the hallway. The sound of someone's footsteps could be heard down the hall, getting louder as they came closer.

The familiar voiceless brunette came into the room, trying to find a hiding spot.

"What's the hurry miss?" Oz asked curiously. Alice immediately hurried to hide behind the blondes back. Oz blinked in concern.

"What's wrong mistress? What happened?" he asked.

"Voiceless girl, stop!" Mrs. Kate's voice called out.

Panicking, Alice climbed her way up on the armoire just as Kate and two maids came in. The middle aged woman was holding onto a dress.

"Young lady, a proper maiden should be more elegant. Now, if you would please come down from there and try on your evening dress." Mrs. Kate said impatiently with annoyance.

Alice's only response was to give the woman a raspberry spit. This action caused the two maids to put their fingertips to their mouths while saying 'Oh.'

"Young lady! How dare you mock my instructions in an inappropriate manner! Come down this instant, and put your dress on!" Kate snapped, clenching the dress in her hands.

'Like hell I'm putting on that disgusting display!' Alice hissed to herself.

"Um, please listen to Mrs. Kate miss and come down." Oz said nicely to the girl. The brunette shook her head.

"But mistress you-"

"BUT NOTING!' Alice mouthed, throwing her hands in the air. 'I'M NOT GOING TO WEAR THAT STUPID RAG, AND YOU CAN'T MAKE ME.' She mouthed, crossing her arms.

Oz blinked in surprise at her actions when he only told her nicely. Even though no words came out, he understood what she was trying to say. Oz studied the dress in Mrs. Kate's hands.

It was a powder blue, long puffed sleeved frilly dress, with violet blue ribbons and bows. The splitting ruffle front, ruffle neckline, and the ruffle edges of the sleeves were the only parts remaining white. It was a pretty gown, and it would have made the teen girl lovely and innocent. But Oz could see why she wouldn't want to wear the article of clothing, just by judging the memory of yesterday when she wore that purple frilly dress. It did not fit her taste in her eyes.

"Heh, um Mrs. Kate, I think the mistress prefers darker dresses with less ribbons and bows." He said, he looks at Alice.

"Is that right mistress?" he asked. Alice gave him a 'What do you think?' look, while nodding.

"Alright, Mrs. Kate do you have any dresses for the mistresses taste?" Oz asked.

"Well, I suppose we do…I may have to look. I'll be right back." Kate pounded, exiting out of the room with the maids.

'Thank god pretty boy here was a teachers pet.' Alice said in relief.

30 minutes later, Mrs. Kate came back with a darker dress just as the mistress ordered.

"I was able to find a darker and less frilly dress. But I'm afraid we only have a couple of darker dresses. We may have to go shopping some time." Kate said.

"Well thank you anyway Mrs. Kate. Well mistress, is this the dress that you wanted?" Oz asked. Alice studied the dress.

It was dark red with a white skirt showing underneath. The long sleeves were puffy at the top, while the rest of it slimmed down where the edges were ruffled white. It also had a medium sized bow tied in the back and the strings of the bow were ruffled.

Alice took the clothing from Kate's hold, and went over to the mirror. She slipped the garment over her head, and worked her way to adjusting it on her figure. The dress fitted her perfectly, and it was somewhat girly. Dresses weren't really Alice's thing, but at least it had her colors. Red had been one of Alice's favorite colors.

"Oh, and this comes along with the dress." Mrs. Kate said.

It was a simple plain velvet red ribbon choker necklace. Alice took the necklace from the woman's palm, watching herself as she tied the ornament around her neck. The necklace matched perfectly with her neckline.

Alice stepped back from the mirror to get a good view of herself. How her human reflection looked was new to her. It was weird to not know how you looked in one's eyes.

Her reflection and the dress somehow made her feel good inside, not to mention giddy and excited. Alice let it all out by twirling her dress and smiling with laughter.

Oz blinked at her happiness, and then smiled.

"I think this means yes to the dress." Mrs. Kate said.

…

"We're almost there Miss, just a bit further." Oz responded to Alice's query.

'We better be, manservant. Because theses stupid slippers are killing me!' Alice complained in her mind.

The two teens had been walking through the city for half an hour, which felt like decades to Alice. She would have been fine if she didn't have to wear shields for her feet.

Seriously, how could anyone walk in these types of shoes if all their purpose was to just pinch your feet? The shoes that Mrs. Kate offered to the brunette were a pair of women's slippers that were made of embroidered silk velvet and leather. They were lovely shoes that looked like an angel, but abused her feet like the devil. Damnit, if they had to walk another hour through the city, her feet were eventually going to be ripped off of her legs.

Well, the shoes weren't the only things that got Alice's attention.

The city was the biggest thing to catch her attention. She remembered visiting the first time, but it's been while since she set foot in the streets. There wasn't that much excitement as last time, probably because the city was still trying to repair itself since the thunderstorm/fire incident, Alice thought. Well, even if it wasn't like the festival, the atmosphere was still new to Alice.

The voiceless chain studied her surroundings, there was so much going on. Carriages were moving about, fine dressed individuals were strolling down the pavement; children were roaming the streets, the aroma of freshly cooked nutriment filled in with the other odors in the air. This was nothing like Alice's world.

'I didn't think this world would differ so much from my world,' Alice said quietly to herself, calm for once. 'This is so strange; all of it is too much to take in. Oswald would never let me see this world.'

Another 30 minutes later, they finally made it to the other side of the city. Thank god! Oz looked around.

"Hmm, they should have been here by now." He pounded.

"Oz, over here!" a voice called out.

Both teens looked straight ahead to find a couple of other teens perched on a stone bridge. The one with shaggy hair and glasses waved to them. Oz immediately ran towards them, while Alice tried to catch up to him.

'Damn these shoes and this dress!' she wined, lifting her dress high enough to run and trying to ignore the pain of her feet. It was going to take time for Alice to get used to these kinds of things.

"Greetings everyone, it's been awhile since all of us have gotten together." Oz said, giving each of their hands a different greeting.

"Indeed it has." Leo agreed.

"Remind me again another reason why we needed to get together again?" Elliot asked sarcastically, crossing his arms.

"Oz-Kun wrote in the letters that he wanted to introduce someone to us." Sharon replied nicely.

"So when do we get to meet the new addition?" Leo asked, adjusting his glasses. Just as Oz was about to reply, Alice came up the steps, wincing with each step she took.

The minute Alice caught up to them; she kicked her shoes off with such force, and evened out her dress calmly that everyone took her action by surprise.

"Um, everyone, meet the mistress." Oz introduced, pretending that the scene didn't happen. Everyone was taken aback at the name 'Mistress'.

"Don't mind calling her mistress. She does have a name." Oz said.

"If she has a name, then why don't you ask her?" Elliot pointed out.

"Um, well…" Oz stuttered, rubbing his neck. "I would, but she's mute. So don't mind her being voiceless and all." He explained.

"Well it's a pleasure meeting you miss." Leo said, offering the brunette a hand. Alice shook his hand, and nodded. "I'm Leo Nightray." He said. Oz pointed over to the others.

"This is Elliot, Leo's his valet." He said.

"Greetings." Elliot said nonchalantly.

"This is Echo-Chan." Oz said.

"It is just Echo." The white haired female corrected.

"And this is Sharon Rainsworth." Oz said.

"Please to meet you mistress. I do hope we can be friends." She said, shaking Alice's hand.

"So Oz, is this why you haven't been spending time with us?" Leo asked.

"No, not really. But I rather not talk about it." Oz answered.

"So Oz-kun, where did you meet the mistress?" Sharon asked suddenly.

"I found her yesterday by the lake, wearing nothing but tattered clothes." Oz admitted.

"You mean you found this wench out in the wilderness? I can see why this twitted critter doesn't like high society." Elliot insulted. Alice shot a glare at the slim toned male.

'What did you blurt out to me mole!?' Alice mouthed, hissing and demanding. Elliot gave the brunette a quizzical look.

'Answer me when I'm talking to you Nightray boy!' Alice mouthed again. All four teens gave her quizzical looks. Alice growled, turning to Oz.

'Oz, as my manservant, I order you to tell you're so called friends what the hell it is that I'm saying!" she mouthed, demanding.

Oz tried to read her lips, but failed in doing so and just sweat dropped. Alice growled in frustration.

'Doesn't anyone know how to read lips!?' she mouthed, in anger.

"Can somebody please tell me what this wench is saying?!" Elliot screeched. Leo pondered.

"Perhaps this can help…" he stammered. Leo dug through his school bag, and pulled out a chalkboard. Its size was 29cm x 21cm. Leo then handed her the blackboard, along with white chalk.

"This will help you bring out the words. You can write can you?" he asked. Alice nodded.

She held the sheet of slate with one arm, and with the tip of the chalk, she scribbled down the words. She held up her sentence towards Elliot.

'_How dare you insult me so suddenly you damn mole!' _her writing said, hissing. Elliot made an odd choking noise.

"Who are you calling a mole!?" he yelled. Alice erased the board, and wrote down a new sentence.

'_You dumbass, who else?!" _

"Well I hope you enjoy moles," Elliot spat. "Because you're going to be hanging with this one for whoever knows how long." Alice narrowed her eyes. Then, swiftly, she kicked him in the shin.

"Son of a-what bloody hell was that for!?" Elliot cursed, rubbing his shin.

'_Ha! You think you are so smart with words. Yet you're an idiot, as Oz said, for not knowing the implications of what you're saying.' _Is what Alice wrote down next.

"Like I care, not knowing that makes you the ignorant nitwit wench for jumping to that conclusion." Elliot snapped, looking away.

'Dumb bastard.' Alice mouthed angrily. Elliot saw her say something from the corner of his eye.

"What was that?" he demanded, yelling. Both glared at each other with such distain.

'This moron…' Alice angrily said to herself.

'This bitch…' Elliot angrily said to himself.

'Is seriously pissing me off!' They both said. You can clearly see a dark aura around them.

"Um, so, has anyone thought of a place we could spend together?" Sharon asked suddenly.

"Well, I was thinking that maybe we could all go to the park." Oz replied.

"The park sounds good to me." Leo agreed. Echo nodded in agreement.

"Well, let's get going everyone." Oz said clearly, walking to their destination. The others followed after him.

…

It took them about 25 minutes to reach their destination.

"It feels good to get some fresh air here, isn't it guys?" Oz asked, letting out a calm sigh. Everyone nodded and said little words related to the word 'Yes'.

'So we meet again, grass.' Alice said to herself.

It had also been a long time since Alice felt the grass under her palms. Curiously, she slipped out of her shoes, and cushioned her bare feet against the earth. The herbs felt cold and moist, but soft against her skin. Alice tried to hold back a laugh when the pastures tickled her feet. She rubbed her toes against the earth, grabbing and letting go handfuls of grass.

"I hope you watch where you walk with those foul paws of yours." Elliot insulted, scoffing. Idiot mole take two. Alice furiously scribbled down on her chalkboard.

'_Quit insulting me dumb mole!' _she spat out.

"Quit calling me a mole! What part of me looks like a mole?!" Elliot snapped back.

"Now, now you guys. There's no need to be antagonistic to each other." Oz interjected.

"Stay out of this!" Both Elliot and Alice blurted out to the blonde.

The two continued fighting, throwing back insults and criticism. Oh the beginnings of a friendship, how can it get anymore competitive?

"Let me handle this." Leo sighed, adjusting his glasses. He stepped forward, and closed the gap between the two enemies.

"Elliot, Mistress," He said, cutting off their argument. "Let's try to short this out like adults. Just to see who will win this fight, how about a race?" Elliot looked at him doubtfully.

"You have got to be kidding? That is preposterous." He paused. "If this wench can beat me from here, to that pole. I'll accept it."

Alice gave Leo her word by nodding exasperatedly.

Both teens went to their starting point, and braced themselves in a pose next to each other.

"Like you're small legs and dress can beat me." Elliot breathed. Alice caught it, and glared back at him.

"The race is from here, all the way to the pole," Leo said. "Whoever wins will win the fight. I promise no inclination and to be a fair judge, unless there is foul play going on. Okay, on your mark…set…go!"

They took off; it was pretty much a long dash, although Alice was determined to win. She would not let anyone get the best of her, especially this one.

They were half way to the finish line, when Elliot started to pick up speed.

'Oh no you don't!' she roared sharply.

Alice instantly went behind him, and pounced on him with such force. Sending him to the ground face first. She then hopped off of him, and hauled the final stretch to the pole where the others were standing.

Leaping with victory, she crowed out and poked her tongue at the boy on the ground.

"That was completely uncalled for!" Elliot cried, as he stomped up to her.

"Sorry mistress, but what you did was foul play." Leo said firmly. Alice scribbled down on the chalkboard.

'_Oh come on! That's how I always did it. And no one ever said anything about it.' _She argued. It was true, that was how she and Gilbert always played it. So no one ever said anything about it being foul play.

"You probably never met any other kids. You can't rule over everyone mistress. This counts as a tie." Leo sighed.

'_No rematch?'_ Alice wrote next.

"I don't trust you the least bit." Elliot groaned. Alice pulled her face.

'_Fine. How about an arm-wrestle?' _she asked. Elliot looked at her in disbelief.

"Why are you so competitive?" he demanded.

'_Why are you so touchy?,' _she shot back. _'It didn't hurt me. Be a man mole!'_

"I am a man you stupid wench," Elliot grumbled. "Let's do this. Same deal as before. If it's a tie, we do something different."

'_You're on, mole!' _Alice smirked, satisfied.

For the rest of the day, Elliot and Alice kept competing with each other. Well, not just them; the rest would join them. Everyone chatted now and then, enjoying the beautiful scenery around them, and getting to know Alice a little bit more.

It was interesting for Alice to meet new faces. She practically gave everyone nicknames. Elliot was mole, Leo was shaggy glasses/four eyes, Echo was puppet, Sharon was duchess, and Oz was manservant/pretty boy.

Soon the sun started to die down to an orange color, giving the sign that it was time to return home.

"Well everyone, it's time for us to head home." Oz said, stretching his arms.

"We are all very grateful to have you back, Oz-Kun. And introducing the mistress to us." Sharon said.

"Echo too." Echo agreed.

Alice lifted the chalkboard up to everyone saying: _'It was nice meeting you all, thanks.'_

"You're welcome mistress." Leo thanked.

"It has been a pleasure." Sharon said.

Echo gave the brunette a thank you nod.

"Yeah, I guess…" Elliot said coldly. Alice walked up to him.

"What do you want now wench?" he asked coldly. Alice wrote down on the board.

'_It was also nice to meet you mole.' _She then spitted on her hand and offered it to him. Elliot starred at her hand as though it were a rat. Alice watched him with a smirk.

'Scared to get your hands dirty, are we little Nightray?'

Flushing furiously, Elliot grabbed her hand and shook tightly. "Same goes for you." He said thinly.

Alice released his hand, and he looked at the dripping saliva with disgust. Alice stepped back, and wiped her hand against her dress.

Elliot, standing next to Leo, cleaned his hand against the back of his valet's clothes.

"Elliot…" Leo whispered to him sharply.

"Don't say a word." Elliot whispered sharply to him.

"Bye guys, see you around!" Oz waved, starting to run home along with Alice. His friends waved back at them.

…

When Oz and Alice returned home, they both decided to hang out in the garden. Before the sun was finally out of sight. They were sitting at the garden table; Alice was sitting on top of the table. There were also a couple of books around them; some that Alice found around the house, and some Oz thought to show the voiceless brunette. One of them being his favorite series "Holy Knight".

"My favorite character in the series is Edgar. To sacrifice himself for others, in order to protect others. He doesn't care if he's hurt. He is truly a traffic man. He's very popular among the readers." He chattered, cheerfully. Alice tried to not show boredom towards the blonde, as she pretended to show interest.

'Can't this boy do anything else besides talk?' she said weary.

"So, what do you think of the series, mistress?" Oz asked. Alice shrugged.

Oz, right now, could tell that the teen girl didn't take interest in the series. Probably because he was chatting too much. The blonde then tried to think of something that would get the mistresses' attention.

'Mistress?' that word repeated in his head. Then it hit him, he still did not know the girl's name. And all he's been calling her was miss, or mistress. This bothered him.

"Heh…you know, I still feel bad about not knowing your name." he said, embarrassed. Alice looked at him.

'If only I wasn't mute, then it would be easier to tell him.' She said.

Alice then almost forgotten that she had something to write on. She picked up the chalkboard; and before the chalk touched the slate, Oz's hand blocked her path. The brunette gave him a questionable look.

"Don't tell me yet. I want to make this more fun by guessing what you're name is." Oz said, smiling. Alice stared at him with utter mystification.

"Now let's see…" he pondered, rubbing his chin. "Is it…Elsie? He asked. Alice's response was to give him an annoyed dull expression. Oz chuckled.

"I guess that's a no." he said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Ok…how about…Lyla?" he tried again. Alice shook her head. "Err…Tillie?" she shook her head again.

For the past 30 minutes, Oz kept playing the guessing game with Alice, who was getting tired of the blondes' false answers. He wasn't even that close to figuring out her name!

"Is it, by any chance, Alexandra?" he asked the hundred time. Alice, once again shook her head.

She could just say screw it and write the god forsaken name down on the board. But then again, it could be breaking a rule. But the least she can do was give him a hint.

She looked at all the books lying around, to see if any of the titles or what not could give the blonde a hint.

Alice then came across a book that was titled "Alice's Adventures In Wonderland". 'Perfect!' she thought.

Alice grabbed the book, and offered it to Oz.

"What's this?" he asked, taking the book questionly.

Oz studied the characteristics on the front cover; does the mistress want him to read the book? But then Oz studied the book harder, reading the letters over and over again.

"Alice…" he pondered. "Alice!" he said it more clearly. Alice nodded. His emerald eyes looked into her amethyst ones.

"Alice…" he repeated. "That sounds cute…" he smiled. Alice blinked at him, then blushed, looking away. Oz chuckled.

He then held her hands, the sudden action caught Alice's attention.

"Alright, from now on I'll call you Alice." He said. Alice didn't know what to say in her thoughts, but to only think how his eyes glistened a lighter shade of green. Her only response to him was a smile.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Alice."

**…**

**Well, that's 3,896 words for you, god I hope I can give you guys more than that: Sniff: T^T **

**Well here's some good news for everyone. I came up with ideas for later chapters, the middle of the story. But I'll only tell you guys this; each chapter would be a different month, like right now we're in February. But the next chapter would be March, and the chapter after that would be April. But that doesn't mean we're going by each month in order. Meaning that the chapter after chapter 10 would be June. So I will be skipping a month or two ahead, just so I can get to the ending, and also because I don't have that many ideas for each month. I hope I'm making sense here ^^;**

**But that's all I'm going to tell you guys, so no spoilers! **

**Goodbye and see you next month!**


	9. New World, New Friends

**Chapter 9 everyone! To tell you the truth guys, this chapter somewhat felt unplanned and not exciting as I thought it would be. And look, this chapter has 3,767 words; more words then chapter 4 but less words than chapter 8. -_- **

**But I guess it's not that bad even though it was little disappointing …**

**But who cares, enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pandora Hearts, or The Little Mermaid story, they all belong to their rightful owners.**

**…**

**The Little Chain: Chapter 9**** New World, New Friends**

The 20th of March had arrived, making it the first day of spring. A month had passed since Alice joined the new world. It had not been very easy for the little chain to adapt to life in the human world, but she was at least happy to see and be with Oz, ever since her encounter with her uncle.

Later, after breakfast, Alice had departed from the mansion. She knew she couldn't be inside all day; it would make her very antsy. She had gone out to the meadow, where she and her friends would sometimes hang out. She was lying on top of the hills, enjoying the atmosphere. Her only article of clothing was just a simple white summer dress.

Alice studied her surroundings, as her eyes were resting. The soft green grass acted as a cushion under her with some little blue, yellow, red, and purple flowers all around her. The sun tinted everything golden along the horizon; a brook slowly fly's by, laughing with the teeming insect life. The atmosphere of calmness and peace prevails, and the beauty is quiet stunning.

Alice then opens her eyes, as a cool wind comes passing by, revealing her beautiful violet eyes. Sighing happily, she rolled over onto her side, and plucked a flower from the earth, bringing it to her face. The fragrance was sweet which made the brunette smile peacefully.

The emerald grass was soft and warm, making her roll and tangle in it, taking in the earth's scent.

She giggled as a ladybug crawled onto her hand. She viewed the little creature closer, and then raised her hand above the swaying herbs; seeing as the ladybug takes flight into the blue. The voiceless teen girl then rose into a sitting position, smiling as she breathed in the air.

Alice described the season of spring; the chill of winter that leaves a person's bones, and replaces it with the warmth of spring that begins to fill their veins. The sun is brighter, and the colors are a bit richer. Flowers are bursting from the seams, sending off a sweet smell in the air. Animals arise from their slumber to chitter and chatter. A crisp mist greets everyone by morning and a warm night wave's goodnight in the evenings. She totally enjoyed this atmosphere.

Alice then spotted a brown shape nearby. Curious as to what it was, she made her way to it. As she got closer, she saw that its form turned out to be a stick. She then took hold of the object, and studied it curiously.

Alice was too lost in the branch that she didn't notice the sounds of paws pounding along the field.

Before she could see who or what was coming, a dog leaped before her eyes, and snatched the stick from the brunette's hands. The dog then turned around, and bowed down while holding the birch in its mouth. The dog was none other than Bandersnatch.

It only took Alice a second to figure out that the canine wanted to play. Before she could even walk two steps, the dog went charging off into the meadow. Alice, grinning, followed after the collie.

She chased Bandersnatch until they reached the garden. You think Alice has already run out of breath? Think again. The chain had so much energy in her that she wasn't the least bit tired, she wasn't going to give up that easily. She hunted the dog all around the maze of flourish herbs.

During this, Lily had been in the garden, picking flowers. She only noticed the two when they zoomed by her. This got her so curious and worked up that she immediately joined in on the run, dropping her flowers in the process.

The girls had chased the canine out of the maze, causing him to lose half of his energy. Alice, on the other hand, still had enough energy in her. Bandersnatch stayed in the same spot, but continued running around.

Alice, finally catching up to the mutt, grabbed the stick and tried to force it out of the dogs jaws. The two were now playing tug a war.

The branch, finally released from the collie's teeth, was now chasing Alice around. Alice then stopped and wagged the twig in the air, as Bandersnatch bounced repeatedly.

Alice, nastily, threw the stick with such force, sending the birch flying over the trees. Bandersnatch, seeing this, barked and ran around, even rolling in the process, in both anger and sadness. Alice and Lily watched him in amusement.

The canine, suddenly without warning, tackled the brunette to the ground. Alice then proceeded to wrestle with the collie. And this went on for about 20 minutes. Once Alice had the mammal pinned to the ground strongly, the dog gave up in defeat. The princess then stood proudly, as the collie panted. Lily clapped in entertainment.

Alice went over to the little blonde child, and bent down to her height, and rubbed her head.

Alice and Lily had gotten along perfectly fine, since Alice joined the Vessalius house. The one thing the two had in common was that they were both mute. Now Lily does have a voice, the reason why she didn't bother letting a word out was either because she had trouble in doing so, or she just chose not to talk. She would let out a sound, but that's it.

Bandersnatch, still having a bit more energy, rose up and shook his body. Then charged over to the girls, and pinned Alice to the ground. He then lapped her in torture with his slobbering clapper. The brunette laughed, even though she was disgusted by the glossa.

This was Alice's wish, to be part of the human world, to desperately experience the joys and freedom of discovering new and exciting areas. She wanted to able to walk through the city streets, to race across the herbs of the earth, to have the sun and moon bathe her skin, and to physically have the freedom in your life to make your own choices, defy what others say, and do whatever you choose to do. Doing all of this without worrying about her Uncles' wrath.

Oz Vessalius had been in one of the rooms of the mansion, reading a book. The sunlight lavished him through the glass window, making his hair seem gold and his eyes a vivid green.

Teens his age would have liked to go outside and enjoy the sun. But today, he decided to stay inside with his book, alone in the room. He had recently paused his reading when he watched the voiceless girl out the mirror casement.

Watching her play with his sister and they're dog. Her performance entertained him, while her smile and laughter warmed his heart. Oz had never seen, or knew, anyone with this much glee in them. It was almost as if she had not done this kind of thing before in her life.

He felt kind of bad for her; she must have run away with a good reason. It was good that Alice had adjusted to his home, but there were still things she had to get used to.

She didn't like the fact that she had to wear dress shoes like every woman did in today's present day. Not only that, but there would be a different kind each day, and each one of those shoes she wore everyday would make her complain on how they would just vilely bruise her feet. So Alice would just take them off, and walk barefooted in the house, despite Mrs. Kate's outrage.

Another thing was that the girl would only wear darker dresses, and there were only four in the household. One that was a dark red-violet color, a midnight blue one, one a dark forest green color, and the dark red dress the she had recently wore. All the maids in the house, including Kate, tried to convince the brunette to wear the light colored dresses. But she was just so headstrong, that she wouldn't even dare try on any dress that was slender in dye. However, she was fine wearing sleepwear and little clothing that was light colored. Probably because they were simple enough for her to wear.

Alice also didn't like anyone doing all the work for her, even though it was their job. She preferred to dress, bathe, and every other simple thing on her own, rather than letting the maids nurture and spoil her. How independent she was.

Alice has also been trying to learn to be fair, well mannered, and polite whenever at the table. This only occurs when she's not that hungry. But when she has a strong desire to eat something, she immediately forgets how to behave at the table, and starts to wolf down everything.

But the one thing about Alice, that took everyone by surprise, was her sudden change of mood.

An example would be when she first tried on that frilly dress the first time; she was disgusted, and fumed about it. But when he commented on how cute she was, she was surprised and looked away blushing.

Another example would be when she refused to try on another light colored frilly dress, and smiled with warmth when she tried on a darker dress. It was something that Oz, or anyone, expected from her seemingly cold heart. Yep, Alice was a mystery to everyone.

'I think this calls for another tour in the city.' Oz thought to himself. Once said, he closed his book and stalked out of the room, while the voiceless brunette, his sister, and dog stayed in their place.

…

"Will anyone mind telling me where we are going?" Elliot demanded.

"We told you, Elliot. We're just taking a tour through the city." Oz answered, calmly sighing.

"Well, if you ask me, this isn't much of a tour if we're just wandering around the streets aimlessly." Elliot protested.

"Be patient Elliot. I'm sure there's a logical explanation for this." Leo said.

"Psst, sure there is Leo." Elliot responded to his valet, sarcastically.

"Really now, Elliot. People like you should never whine in a mordant matter, and should be more patient and mellow." Sharon protested, nicely and calm.

Later that afternoon, Oz and his friends had resolved with each other to take another tour through the city. Mostly just to spend the day together, and to get Alice away from the mansion once in a while. Also, Mrs. Kate insisted that Oz and his friends go shopping for clothing for the brunette. Saying that she was very annoyed and impatient with the girl's stubbornness.

Today, Alice was wearing a dark forest green gothic dress, that had short sleeves with white hems, a square neckline, a delicate bow sash adorning the natural waist of the buttons bodice with lace-up back, and finally an elegant multi-layered skirt.

As the group continued their conversation, Alice had her eyes roaming the streets infinitely. That is, until she spotted a food cart while passing by.

Upon seeing her favorite dish, she remembered how tasty it was, and the aroma that was floating in the air. She longed to taste the tender meat that brought comfort to her.

She couldn't bare standing there like a little poor child that was starving, something had to be done. Alice, immediately, ran up in front of her friends, and held up her chalkboard that said

'_Guys! There's some fresh, juicy, tender meat over there that is driving me crazy!' _

"Meat?" Elliot said, quizzically. Oz smiled.

"Is our little Alice saying that she's hungry for some meat?" he said, teasingly. Alice responded to him by putting on an innocent bunny eyes expressing; nodding while tugging on his sleeve like a little child.

"Sorry love, but you can't." Elliot gave the brunette his word. Alice wrote a new sentence on the board.

'_Who said you can be the judge that makes his final decision!?' _the reply demanded.

"For your information, wench. Buying raw nutriment is cheaper then precooked ones. It's something that a woman like you should know." Elliot pointed out. Alice thought of it doubtfully.

"He's right Alice," Leo said firmly. "No worries, we can buy some raw meat for dinner. Or perhaps we will find a place to eat that serves meat."

'_But I want meat that's freshly cooked, just for me.' _Is what Alice wrote next, whining. '

"Tough, you're just going to have to accept it, wench." Elliot concluded sharply. Alice glared at him.

"Well, let's not waste any time. Shell we continue our journey?" Sharon said suddenly, changing the subject.

"Certainly." Leo responded. Alice dropped her head.

"Aw, chin up, Alice! There are more new and exciting things to see then a food stand," Oz said cheerily, rubbing her head. "Just follow us."

Oz then followed after his friends, trying to catch up to them. But Alice kept her ground.

'No one orders me what to do.' She mouth sharply. The chain then started to scribble something else down on the board, as she started walking up to Oz.

He stopped in his tracks when she nudges his shoulder. She then handed him the chalkboard, and started walking in the opposite direction; cracking her knuckles. Oz, quizzically, reads the characters on the board.

"If no one is willing to sacrifice their purses, then I'll just go and-What!?" he exclaimed on the last line.

"She's going to what!?" Elliot screeched. Apparently, the other's heard the blonde reading out loud.

"Wait Alice, you can't do that!" Oz called out to the brunette as he ran in her direction.

"Wait up Oz-Kun!" Sharon exclaimed, following after him along with Echo.

"We get it Alice!" Leo called out.

"We'll buy the stupid meat for you, okay!?" Elliot cried out.

…

After a few long minutes of walking, the teenagers had finally reached their destination; a dress shop.

"A dress shop?! You mean we had to be dragged across the streets just to visit a clothing store for woman?!" Elliot said.

"Elliot, must you fuss over everything?" Leo sighed impatient. Oz rubbed the back of his neck.

"Um, well…Mrs. Kate insisted that we find suitable dresses for Alice." He said with a smile.

"And Oz-kun insisted that I and Echo help Alice and the hundreds of dresses." Sharon brought up, sweetly.

"Oh, so it's alright for the lady's to know. But not the man." Elliot protested.

"Well, Elliot, I don't see you as the type to model a female." Oz pointed out.

Elliot looked away. "Hmmp! As if."

"Well anyways, I would be delighted to help our mistress find dresses for her taste." Sharon gave her word.

"Well, how about it Alice?" Oz asked. Alice, while happily chewing her meat on a stick, answered by shrugging her shoulders boredly.

…

'Whoa…When they said a dress store, they weren't kidding.' Alice thought, blankly.

The voiceless brunette looked around the store, taking in the surrounding area. The walls were a jade green color with white swirled designs across them. But that's not what surprised Alice.

The whole room was filled with colorful dresses, each a different style and pattern.

Sharon and Echo were scanning through the racks of numberless garments that were organized in long strips from the entrance door to the back of the wall.

Alice, out of boredom, took a look at the rack next to her. 'Oh, my, god…' she stammered.

Oh my god was right, because on every last hanger were nothing but big, girly, light colored, frilly, dresses. What a nightmare. Instead of the humans listening to the brunette, they just had purposely rebelled against everything she preferred. Disgusting girly cloths, that Alice despised so much, covered the whole rack. The sight of them made her shiver, and her breath was as cold as ice as she breathed.

"Alice…" a voice sang, floating down the halls. Alice turned to face Sharon and Echo, who were holding a couple stacks of dresses in their arms.

"We've found dresses that would go well with you." Sharon beamed. Somehow, Alice highly doubts that.

Sharon then held up the first stack, and gave a smell giggle. It was a short sleeve elegant pink frilly dress, with sweet ruffles that went down the front. Alice thought that she was going to lose the meat that she just ate. The voiceless teen wrote a reply on the chalkboard.

'_There is no way in hell that I'm wearing that around!' _

Sharon blinked. "Not wearing it? But Alice-"

'_No! Forget it! I hate its aspect, and nothing will change that!' _is what the brunette wrote next.

Sharon and Echo were clueless, if she didn't want a sweet lovely dress, what kind did she prefer? Alice, impatient, scribbled on the board.

'_I want dresses that are darker and less girly. No frills, no bows, no nothing.' _Sharon put a figure to her chin.

"Less, girly, dresses…" She pondered. She then went on a search to find the right kind of dress.

The caramel colored girl then came back with a new stack. Alice gave her a curt nod. After several long minutes of trying on each dress, they bought and paid for them.

…

After dress shopping, the teenagers went to go eat lunch at a restaurant.

"My god, that was a complete waste of time." Elliot said.

"What was Elliot?" Leo asked.

"The whole walk around the city, that's what." Elliot replied.

"We always travel on foot Elliot. We didn't get lost or anything." Leo said.

"Well, maybe if little miss meat lover didn't have to gawk at everything we passed by." Elliot pointed out. Alice, annoyed, spat back a sentence to the young male.

'_Hey! I can't help it, mole! I never get to see any of this stuff!' _

"So you can't help it if you're a shameless brat also?" Elliot spat back.

'Wow, Alice and Elliot are on the same tempered level.' Oz thought, eating his appetizer. 'Well, it's funny either way.'

Oz observed Alice, who continued battling with the beige haired male; the brunette was cute when she was angry. Her behavior and actions somewhat entertained him.

The blonde, and everyone else, continued watching the voiceless teen's dramatic play.

While Oz studied her features, something entered his thoughts. 'Long hair…and innocent eyes…just like her…'

'Her' as in his mysterious savior, this thought hit him so suddenly.

Two or so months had passed, and Oz could barely remember the image; he could only remember the long hair and stunning eyes that the person had. Oz studied Alice again, only this time, her appearance.

She did have long hair all right, even the details, like how some of the strands stood out. And her eyes, he couldn't exactly remember what kind of purple they were, but he knew they were impressive and innocent. But doesn't everyone have that?

Oz then found himself staring at the brunette, at this point; Alice felt a set of eyes on her. Looking in the direction of the one who was staring, and met the emerald eyes of OZ Vessalius.

"Uh, sorry!..." he said softly, turning his head the other way. His cheeks slightly burning with embarrassment. Alice blinked, raising her eyebrow.

'Why is he so insistent on staring at me?' she thought.

During the whole brunch, Alice tried to think of good reasons why the blonde observed her like that. What could be wrong? Was she too dramatic back there? Was this just a habit of his? Why do I even care? All these weird thoughts swarmed in her mind.

Then, the next question came to mind; her saving his life. Alice's heart began to beat faster; he couldn't really remember her, could he?

Then for some reason, Alice thought that it was somewhat cute that he observed her like that.

…

It was late in the afternoon. Everyone had gotten home safely before dinner. Alice hung out in her room, waiting for dinner to be called, but had to listen to Ravens lecture about doing what the witch said before time runs out.

"How long do you plan to wait till the last minute?" Raven demanded. Alice scribbled on her board.

'_God, do you have to be this intolerant? It's only been a month, seaweed-head.' _

"It doesn't matter how long it's been. The only thing that matters is that you haven't been making any progress. And all you've been doing is adjusting to this place!" Raven yelled.

'_So what!? It's the first step anyway right? Plus, I have plenty of time to get through all the steps. And second, I still don't know how I'm going to make the prince mine, because I don't know the damn feeling I have for him!' _Alice wrote next.

"Well you better start coming up with a plan, unless you want to be the witch's next pet in line!" Raven stated matter of factly.

'_Didn't you say long ago that you, Break, and Gilbert were going to help me?' _She brought up.

"Yes, but that doesn't mean we're doing all the work for you. You have to help out too," He said, a little calmer.

'_I know that, idiot!' _she protested. _'Just give me time, ok.' _

"Fine." Raven concluded. Thus ending they're argument.

…

"Oh, let's hope you do." Lottie said, with a smirk. Her valets had been keeping their watch on her since the day she set foot in the human world.

"Charlotte, is the princess really going to get her man, and succeed?" Cheshire asked through her mind.

"She won't, it's impossible." She answered simply.

"Why do you say that?" Vincent asked.

"Because I won't let her, it's all part of my plan." The witch stated.

"Tell us the plan mistress." Cheshire implored. Lottie gave them a small chuckle.

"Well, we know now that we have urged her to make a deal with me. And that I have her under my control, yes?" she said vainly. Both boys nodded.

"Now the next step is to make sure that our B-Rabbit doesn't reach for her dreams before the clock strikes one. And when that time comes, I will steal all her energy to help me obtain the key that controls the whole Abyss realm. And once both the king and princess are deceased, everyone will fear me. Then I, Charlotte, Mistress of the Abyss, will create an alternative world with both the Abyss and mortal world as one!" She cried, laughing evilly.

"And no human or chain can stop me…"

**…**

**Dun, dun, dun…! XD Red alert, Lottie's plans had been revealed! **

**For those of you wondering if the shops, food stand, and restaurants in the Victorian period are correct: I literally have no idea. I searched through the internet countless times as best as I could, and found no clue. So let's just leave it at that. **

**That's it for this chapter; now let's hope that the next one makes it.**

**Nicolegreen8 out!**


	10. Important Update: Please Read!

**People of fanfiction, I have an important announcement to make. The Little Chain Chapter 10 is going to have to be postponed for another time I'm afraid. The reason is because my family and I are currently moving to a different location. A lot of things are going to be going on so I may or may not have the internet for a while.**

**But don't worry guys, chapter 10 has already been written and typed out. The only thing that hasn't been done is the editing.**

**Let me explain how a chapter is planned and ready; The first thing I do is write everything out on notebook paper, and after that is done I type it all out on Microsoft Word, and then the last step is for the editor to look and make sure the chapter is okay; and that editor would be my mother XD**

**So right now my mom doesn't have the time to look over my latest chapter, and she probably won't for some time.**

**So I just wanted to let you all know what's going on. I believe it isn't fair for an author to leave his or her readers hanging on to a story for a long time, without writing a response as to why they're not continuing on with their story.**

**But do not worry; I'm not one of those people. I will still continue with this story as long as I can manage. This is a promise that I don't intend to break. Because I can tell by your reviews that this story gets you on the edges of your seats, and that you are so eager to know what happens next. Making this the reason why I'm still writing more chapters :)**

**So please understand what I'm reporting to each and every one of you. And also promise me that you will be patient for chapter 10 to come.**

**Thank you, nicolegreen8 out.**


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